Harry Potter: Truths Revealed
by Orion Cygnus Black
Summary: AU set after chapter 35 of GoF. What if truths have been revealed, by everyone, to everyone, much earlier? What if Harry has more trusting and supportive friends? What if his horcrux was destroyed earlier, and he knew the prophecy before anything severe happened?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: hello readers, this is my first fanfic so any comments and criticisms are welcome.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter Belongs to J. K. Rowling. Some of the things in this fanfiction might be copied from the books or the movies, but that in no way implies that it is mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes, with no intend to offend or infringe on copyright.

Let the story begin!

Chapter 1: denying the undenyable

"Dumbledore, you can't possibly believe the boy that You-Know-Who is back! He is obviously lying! Who knows what might have happened when he was portkeyed away? Diggory might be killed by someone else and not a death eater-" Fudge said, but he was abruptly cut off by Dumbledore's voice.

"I assure you, I don't want him to be back either, but as it is, we must face the reality. He is back. I have sufficient evidence from relyable sources, mainly Barty Crouch Jr.'s confession under veritaserum and the growing strength of the dark mark on Severus-"

"Enough, Dumbledore! Who knows if you are lying about using veritaserum, for all we know Snape might've given you plane water and you wouldn't know it!"

That seemed to be the last straw for the old man, and he glared at the idiotic minister who cowered under the intense and angry gaze.

"I trust Severus Snape completely, and know that he wouldn't do that. If you are so determined not to believe me, Minister, then you can administer Veritaserum on him again..."

The Minister glared at Dumbledore one last time before going back through the floo network to his office, still not believeing one single word from the old man, but determined to find out the truth.

OOO

"Bones, fetch me a vial of Veritaserum. An authentic one. We'll see if I can't disprove Dumbledore and show him how Potter was just a lyer all along..." Fudge demanded, and the head of the DMLE immediately hurried away to do as she was told. Not a moment later, she returned with the vial and handed it to him.

"Follow me, with a few aurors and dementors...We might need them to subdue Dumbledore if he decides to go agressive due to us not believing him," he demanded, and Madam Amelia Bones walked away to find trustworthy aurors and, as much as she hated doing it, she had to... order... two dementors to come to Hogwarts with them.

'The minister is downright crazy, bringing those blasted creatures back to Hogwarts after everything last year!' she thought to herself angrily but couldn't really refuse his orders...him being her superior in a way...

"Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts!" she said after throwing down the greenish powder into the fireplace of her office and stepping in, knowing that the aurors can get themselves and the dementors to Hogwarts properly.

OOO

Dumbledore sighed to himself. The minister simply wouldn't listen and refuse to believe what he saw. Madam Bones seemed surprised about Voldemort's return, or so Dumbledore thought. However, the good thing is that she actually believed him and Harry. Believed the truth after Severus shown them his dark mark, but even then...the minister was not persuaded.

He tensed suddenly. He could feel the dementors' presence even though they haven't entered Hogwarts yet. The alarm wards also warned him about what is to come. The minister, Madam Bones and a few aurors had came through the fireplace a few minutes ago, but when he asked whether they want to question Crouch right that moment they said no, claiming that they are waiting for something. He growled. 'So this is how it is...'he thought to himself, wishing that some people will just wake up and realise the threat to their world now... 'I must guard Barty when they question him, just to be safe,' he thought before silently disillusioning himself and following the ministry people to the office of the Defence Against the Dark Arts professors, the dementors slowly gliding alongside them as well.

OOO

"Stupefy!" one of the aurors casted while pointing his wand at Crouch, just to make sure he is stunned so he could not struggle from them when the truth serum is administered. Bones immediately moved to the stunned man and dripped 3 drops of the potion into the man's mouth. The aurors waited until the man swallowed the potion before the one who casted the stunner enervated him. They then started asking him questions, and being under effects of the truth potion, the supposed death eater revealed everything to the ministry workers, shocking them into speechlessness as they realised that Voldemort had indeed returned, and the incidents involving Potter's entry into the Triwizard Tournament and the Quidditch World Cup Incident were orchestrated by him. How he was freed as a final act of kindness from his father towards his dying mother...How his mother had taken polyjuice potion to pose as him, replacing him in Azkaban and died there...How he was put under an Imperious by his father, saught out by the dark lord, killed his father, transfigured his body into a bone, burying it near Hagrid's hut, stunned Crum...

Fudge looked panicked, before suddenly screaming, "Bones! You are trying to trick me, aren't you? He wouldn't mention You-Know-Who returning under Veritaserum since its not true!" then he turned to address the dementors, "Kiss them!" he said while gesturing to Crouch and Bones.

The dementors glided forward, the other aurors gasping in surprise. 'What the hell was the minister doing! HE had evidence about You-Know-Who returning and now he's trying to deny the undenyable by erasing the evidence!'

The aurors raised their wands, not knowing what to do as despair came over everyone in the room. Some tried to cast patroni to repell the dementors but silver mists very weakly streamed from their wand tips as those dark creatures breathed in their happiness. The dementors edged closer to Crouch and Bones, their hoods going back in preparation to suck out their souls. Their mouthes almost touched the two people when...

"Expecto Patronum Maxima!" a voice roared powerfully from seemingly nowhere yet everywhere at once. A large, brightly glowing silver phoenix floo into the room, blinding the aurors and causing the dementors to flee in sudden terror. After the spots in front of their eyes have been blinked away, the aurors saw that the phoenix had vanished, and the caster of the patronus was revealed to be Albus Dumbledore, fury blazing in his eyes at Cornelius Oswald Fudge.

"You despicable man! Even faced with evidence you attempt to do this, and take an innocent life as well in the form of Madam Bones! Shame on you!" Dumbledore shouted, his glare pinning the Minister in place.

Fudge spluttered a few times before stuttering, "Y-You have n-no right t-to listen in on t-t-the in-intaragation session w-with a s-suspect, much less in-interrupting the d-dementors-" Fudge squeaked when Dumbledore's magic started to pulse violently beneath their feet, indicating just how angry the man is.

"I don't want to hear any excuses, Cornelius. If you are so ignorant of the danger to our world, then perhaps you are not fit to become Minister of Magic. These men and women here will help me expose you as the foolish politician you are," icy words came from the old man's lips as Fudge continued to splutter.

Fudge tried to save face by saying, "You can't do that! I need to be in the office to make sure the people are safe from You-Know-Who! I still don't believe that he came back, but if he did, it is my responsibility to calm the people! I just don't want the public to know about his return so that they can-"

An angry auror - Kingsley Shacklebolt - interrupted with a, "Can what? Die because they are caught unaware? I'd rather the people realise what happened and will happen now, and learn how to defend themselves should You-Know-Who attack. I'm sure everyone else agrees with me,". The other aurors nodded at him, their anger at the minister rivaling his and Dumbledore's. The Minister glared down at the ground, before he managed to control his emotions, and said, "I have something else to do here before I go back to the ministry. All of you can leave."

The aurors nodded, and walked away - one helping Bones while the others carrying Crouch, out of Hogwarts and back to their offices.

"What unfinished business do you have here, Cornelius?" Dumbledore asked after calming down from his previous anger.

"I need to give the Potter boy his winnings. He is the champion of the Triwizard tournament, after all."

"I see. He is in the hospital wing, as he is slightly injured during the dual with Voldemort. He is probably sleeping, but then again he might be awake."

Fudge glared at Dumbledore before nodding, and walked towards the hospital wing.

OOO

Harry opened his eyes slowly from the dreamless sleep he had. He felt more rested than he did previously, but he still felt scared, angry, and guilty at Cedric's death at the hands of Peter Petigrew earlier. He was thankful Madam Pomfrey gave him dreamless sleep potion, because without it he was sure he was going to have terrible nightmares.

"Mr. Potter? You have visitors." the soft voice of Madam Pomfrey interrupted his train of thoughts. He glanced over, puzzled. Just who was, or were, the visitors? Hermione and the Weasleys had visited him already, alongside Hagrid.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, I'm glad you are awake." Dumbledore said softly. "The Minister of Magic wishes to see you."

Harry looked around, before seeing the Minister of Magic - could his name be Cornelius Fudge? - standing next to Dumbledore.

"Good day, Minister," Harry said.

"And good day to you Mr. Potter. I'm here, as you probably know, to deliver your Triwizard Winnings to you. Congratulations." Fudge said with a small smile on his lips.

Harry looked up in surprise. He had completely forgotten about his Triwizard winnings until now - after everything that has happened, thousands of galleons seemed to be nothing.

"Minister, I. .. I don't want the money. I would like you to use it as funding for the upcoming war with Voldemort. The ministry will probably need the galleons more than I do at this moment-"

The Minister interrupted him, somewhat coldly with a, "You-Know-Who is dead. You've killed him when you are still a baby."

Harry frowned at Fudge. "He has returned. I know that it is impossible for anyone to return from death, but I have seen it with my own eyes-"

"Enough! He has not returned, and I will not take the money that is rightfully yours!" Fudge said with a glare at Harry.

He glared at the minister, before saying, "Yes, sir. Thank you."

The minister simply walked away silently after slamming the sack of gold coins on the bedside table. 'Perhaps Lucius can help me in this... I know he has not returned...HE can't have. Someone that was under his Imperious curse the last time wouldn't want him to return and would know if he did, right? And Lucius didn't tell me anything about him coming back, and he would have, especially if he sensed it in his dark mark that was given to him forcefully by the dark lord...' Fudge thought, as he walked through the gates of Hogwarts, passed the wards, and apparated to somewhere near Malfoy Manor with a crack.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Vision of the Dark Plans

Lucius sighed to himself. His plans were going well, but not as well as he thought it should be. If they had gone perfectly as planned, no auror would've believed Dumbledore and the Potter brat that the dark lord is back, since Crouch Jr - the only evidence they had of his return - would've been dead. He frowned, and was about to continue reading on dark curses when...

-Pop-

"Master Malfoy, I is begging your pardon but the Minister is outside and wishes to see you, sir," said Fizzy, one of the house elves working at Malfoy Manor. She was pacing around nervously, just like almost all of the house elves working in the manor when they talked to him.

"Send him in, then bring tea for us both," Lucius said flatly. He didn't really like being interrupted in the middle of reading a book... but seeing as the Minister was already here he might as well meet with him. 'I might be able to somehow...repair the plan,' Lucius thought to himself.

"O-Of course, master. Fizzy is sorry for interrupting you. Fizzy will make sure to punish herself!" the house elf said in a slightly fearful tone, knowing that her master would've asked her to do that anyway.

"Leave my sight and do as you are ordered, I am tired of having you in my presence," Lucius growled sharply to the elf who promptly vanished with a -pop-

A few minutes later the minister came in alongside Fizzy who placed the tea (and a tray of biscuits) on the table. Lucius completely ignored the house elf and didn't bother to thank her as he immediately greeted the minister warmly. "Ah, Minister, long time no see. Please, have a seat, and perhaps some tea and biscuits."

"Hello, Lucius. Long time, indeed. Thank you for your hospitality. We have something we need to discuss," said the man with the lime green hat perched on his head.

"Fizzy, leave us. Now." he ordered sharply, and the elf immediately walked away without a word.

"Well Minister, what is it that requires my attention? You had not needed my advice for a long time," said the blond aristocrat. Fudge frowned. "I am sure you know that Potter and Dumbledore have been claiming that You-Know-Who is back. I know this is not true, as his own avada kedavra was reflected back at him when he tried to kill the boy, yet they continue to claim it so. They even managed to, somehow, make Crouch Jr. lie about it as well. I need your help in convincing the public that You-Know-Who isn't back to cause chaos again." the Minister explained.

Lucius nodded in understanding, but did not immediately talk to the Minister. His fingers drummed lightly on the armrest of his comfortable chair as he contemplated what to do next. . . .

"I'll see what I can do, Minister. Don't worry about the public... and you have no need to worry about staying in office as well," Lucius said, after a few moments of silence. "Before I proceed with convincing the public, I need to go somewhere. I would appreciate it if you wait here or go back to the Ministry - I'm sure you have many things still left to do,"

"Very well, Lucius. I shall go back and complete those stupid paperwork still piled on my desk..." Fudge said, understanding that the Malfoy family head was dismissing him politely and would definitely come to his aid. Lucius have never broken a promise before, after all. Fudge silently walked out of the manor, through the wards, and apparated away.

OOO

When Lucius is completely sure that Fudge had left, he disapparated from within the manor with a soft crack. Being the head of the Malfoy family the wards allowed him to apparate in or out whenever he wanted to. When the sensation of apparating had passed he glanced around, at the now familiar landscape of Little Hangleton. With a simple glance around the area, he could see the graveyard, and a few houses, including where he wanted to go to - Riddle Manor.

The manor had been quite beautiful when those filthy muggles still lived here before their deaths. The dark lord deliberately left it looking abandoned and haunted so that no one would come and check what is inside. The paint on the house is peeling away from several places, the doors and walls are soot-stained, and it just looked and felt gloomy. The darkness of the night didn't help matters at all. Lucius ignored how it looked like and strowed forward towards the manor. The wards placed there by the dark lord made his left forearm tingle slightly as the magic tried to search him for his dark mark. When everything's said and done, the wards allowed him through and he simply continued walking, and opened the door slowly then entered. He knew where to find the dark lord.

OOO

"Ah, Lucius, my faithful one..." Voldemort said softly. "Come, come to me..."

Lucius knelt down and crawled forward on his knees, then kissed the hem of his master's robes. "My lord..."

"Rise, my faithful death eater," Voldemort said without glancing down at his servant. Lucius stood but continued looking down, as is the norm for death eaters when they talked to their lord.

"I don't assume this is a social visit, is it Lucius?" Voldemort asked in a calm, but knowing voice.

"No, my lord..." Lucius said and explained everything to his master, without leaving out a single detail, even though he probably knew more than what Lucius told him. HE had to explain everything, since the dark lord tended to be suspicious if death eaters decided to not reveal things to him.

Voldemort listened to his servant calmly, but behind his occlumency shields and masked emotions...he was angry. The anger of the dark lord was so deadly that it sent pain signals across a certain connection that the dark lord and a certain someone else remained oblivious of.

"And there I thought you would've known what to do, how to proceed, instead of bringing that to my attention..." Voldemort hissed with deadly calm.

"I-I just want to make sure I wouldn't accidentally interfere with your plans by how I wanted to-"

"Silence!" Voldemort shouted, and drew his wand. "Crucio!" he casted while his wand is pointed at Lucius. His servant screamed and writhed on the ground in agony, begging for mercy the entire time. A few moments later Voldemort stopped the curse, and glared at his servant.

"I shall call a death eater meeting...We shall discuss everything with them. I have a plan..." With that he pulled his servant up onto his feet, pulled back the sleeves of his robes, and pressed his wand firmly onto the tainted mark on his skin. Not a few minutes later all of his Death Eaters assembled before him, knelt, kissed the hem of his robes, and muttered an oath of loyalty.

"My faithful followers... As you know, I have returned... However, I want none of you - and I do mean none of you - to reveal that fact to anyone unless you want to feel my wrath. We also need to stop that old coot Dumbledore and the Potter brat from revealing that fact to more people than those who now knew the truth." Voldemort hissed to the assembled crowd, who are all still paying attention to him.

"Lucius... Make it certain that the public does not believe that I have returned. If you are not able to do so, make sure the public is not too well defended from us. Do whatever you need to do, be it sack Fudge, become the minister, or anything else you need to. Capture those who knew about my return and those who attempt to thwart our plans, obliviate them if you need to - just make sure they don't reveal anything. but don't kill them... yet. Don't fail me. Crab, Goyle, Avery, Nott and Rookwood will be leading a discrete attack on Azkaban. Lucius, you will make sure no one knows about that mission. And finally..." Voldemort paused to gesture to one of the death eaters to come forward. The woman that walked forward and knelt to kiss the hem of his robes looked...strange... She was wearing robes, but they can clearly see the pink outfits beneath. She was short, and seemed to emanate an aura of false sweetness that isn't comforting at all - instead, it seemed to be horrifying.

"I will have Lucius put you in a suitable position to... ruin Hogwarts from within... by not allowing students to learn about important subjects, like Defense Against the Dark Arts and charms... They must not learn those subjects if we want to win easily."

"Of course, my lord. I shall do as you asked," the woman spoke in a falsely sweet voice. "Meeting agerned. Any of you that fail me will not like the consequences. Do what is ordered of you and you shall be rewarded." Voldemort said in anticipation.

OOO

Harry didn't realize he was screaming until he felt firm hands on his shoulders, trying to shake him awake. "Potter? Potter! Wake up! It's just a dream." the soothing voice of Madam Pomfrey said to him. Harry jerked awake and bolted upright on his bed. He rubbed his scar almost frantically, trying to lighten the pain. "No...No...Voldemort...Return...Wanted to ruin Hogwarts... from within..." he mumbled frantically. "Calm down, Harry. It's all just a dream." the kind school nurse said again, but she really didn't think so. She hoped so though, after hearing what he said. She really wouldn't like to see what he said coming to pass...

"I need to...Talk...To Hermione...Dumbledore..." he continued to mumble, as if he didn't hear what she said.

"Accio calming draught," Pomfrey whispered softly while waving her wand, and a potion bottle flew into her hands from the medicine cabinet. "Glucosium." she passed her wand in a circular gesture over the bottle. "Here, drink this. You need to be calm, at least, before talking to other people," Pomfrey coaxed, and Harry gulped it down in one. The potion tasted...sweet? How that happened he didn't really know but he was happy about it none the less.

The potion took affect soon after, and he stopped mumbling and rocking back and forth. "I am going to call Dumbledore and your friends. I'm sure they would like to see you," Pomfrey said softly before walking away. Harry sighed to himself. The pain had faded slightly now, but Harry's scar now tingled slightly, uncomfortably. They really need to warn the public about Voldemort's return and convince them of it. He didn't honestly care if it would cause a panic, but they need to know before things get out of hand and they knew that he had returned because he killed their families...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: talks and surprises

Dumbledore sighed to himself. Sometimes, he hated the fact that so many people looked up to him as a hero and sometimes they simply did not trust him even though he had evidence to make them believe. The daily prophet of today is proof of that. Oh, sure, the prophet mentioned about the unfortunate death of Cedric Diggory, but completely failed to mention that he is killed by a death eater, Bartemious Crouch Jr. is a death eater, much less the fact of Voldemort's return. 'There's no time to bother with their lies. I need to restart the order as soon as I can, gather the old crowd and everything,' thought Dumbledore. He looked up when the flames in the fireplace of his office turned green and in the flames, Madam Pomfrey's head is visible.

"Ah, good morning, Poppy." Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Do come over for some tea and lemon drops, will you not?"

"Good morning Headmaster. And no, as much as I want to come over, I can't. I am kind of busy at the moment. I just flooed to tell you that Potter requests to meet you and his two best friends, if possible. HE is quite distraught about some sort of nightmare he had involving You-Know-Who and wishes to speak to you three about it."

Dumbledore frowned at that. A nightmare involving Voldemort's what Poppy said, but somehow he felt that something more is happening here.

"I see. I will meet with Harry during the leaving feast in the Great Hall later. I assume he can attend?"

"Yes... but why can't you meet him now? I know you are busy but this seems... serious."

"Sadly, I have obligations to attend to involving Voldemort's return. I need to restart the order as soon as possible, and manage other minor things that should be gotten out of the way before it's too late."

"Right then. I'll tell the boy to meet you three later in the Great Hall. Of course he can attend, but I will be attending alongside to make sure nothing else happens to the boy. He has enough injuries and stuff to worry about as it is."

"Very well, Poppy. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will tell Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger about this myself."

OOO

Ron sat down at the Gryffindor table, awaiting the leaving feast that is to come. Unlike usual, however, he felt no hunger, no appetite to eat. Harry had explained to him and Hermione, however reluctantly, about Voldemort's return when they visited him yesterday evening at the hospital wing. His explanations made him feel sick to the stomach. How could any being be so cruel as to take an arm of his servant and the blood of his enemy for a gruesome ritual to resurrect himself? He sighed, not even looking up when Hermione sat across from him.

"Morning, Ron. What're you doing up so early?" Hermione asked curiously. Ron wasn't known for being an early riser, after all.

"Can't sleep," Ron mumbled softly. Hermione sighed to herself. She was in a similar predicament. She had less sleep than Ron - she knew this just by looking. Ron didn't look as tired as she looked when she stared into the mirror this morning. His eyes were also not puffy, unlike hers, because she had been crying all night due to fear while he had just been worrying. She had more to deal with than him, being a muggleborn and all. She worried for the safety of her family, of her friends... and of herself.

Just then, a figure walked purposefully towards the Gryffindor table. The twinkling blue eyes, half-moon spectacles, silver beard and strangely patterned robes can only be of one person - Albus Dumbledore.

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger." the Headmaster greeted softly and not as cheerfully as usual. That scared both teenagers slightly. What could make Dumbledore worried enough that he'd lose a bit of his cheer?

"Good morning, sir." both teens responded in the same, soft tone Dumbledore used.

"Well, I'm just here to tell you that Harry would like to meet both of you during or after the leaving feast today. I will also be meeting with him as he requested specifically that I do as well."

"Yes, sir." both teens said worriedly, and became even more worried when Dumbledore seemed to sigh and the twinkle in his eyes dimmed ever so slightly. The Headmaster then walked back to the head table without another word.

OOO

Harry sighed in slight annoyance. Dumbledore had told Pomfrey that they will meet during or after the leaving feast today, and not now, because he is busy restarting some kind of order and had other obligations involving Voldemort. He could understand that the Headmaster is a busy man and all but for some reason, this felt important. Before his dream ended, he had seen Voldemort smile with anticipation, and that scared him more than the fact that he had returned. 'This could all be just a dream…' he tried to convince himself but failed miserably. He never believed that this is a simple dream. After all, didn't his earlier dreams about Frank Brice actually happen? Dreams never manifested in reality - that's something Flitwick had said before they started to learn about the sleeping charm.

Flashback - charms class, a few months ago…

"It just puts someone to sleep. They might dream, but dreams can never manifest in reality. Well, unless Morpheus decided to merge dream realms with our realm," Flitwick had joked.

End flashback.

Well, if that's the case, then Frank Brice wouldn't have been murdered. And how did he even know the muggle's name, anyway? He doubted that his mind just made it up.

"Are you ready to go to the Great Hall, Mr. Potter?" Madam Pomfrey asked with a slight smile on her face.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey." Harry answered, before being gently guided out of the hospital bed, out of the door, and down into the Great Hall, towards the gryffindor table where his friends sat.

OOO

"Hi, guys," Harry greeted them softly.

"Hi, Harry." Ron said softly in a somewhat strained voice. Harry frowned.

"What's up? Both of you seemed concerned or something."

"Nothing's the matter, Harry. We're just worried about you and about V-V-Voldemort." Hermione said in reply, shuddering slightly after saying the dark lord's name. "We also know that you want to meet with Dumbledore and us after this. Don't worry about it, Harry, for now just relax and enjoy the feast that's coming up soon."

Harry nodded. Right at that moment, Dumbledore stood up, and every student (including the Weasley twins) silenced themselves to listen to the Headmaster who now looked every year of his age. No twinkle in his eye, no aura of cheerfulness...

"The end," said Dumbledore, looking around at them all, "of another year."

He paused, and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table. Every student there were subdued. He looked around again, at the students of other tables, and saw that most (if not all) of the students seemed sad.

"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," said Dumbledore, "but first I must acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here," he gestured toward the Huffelpuffs, "enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."

All of the students, including Draco Malfoy and his goons, stood up and raised their glasses. Harry recalled how Cedric had been when he was still alive. Even during his first and second year, Cedric had been nothing but a good student in almost every way. A good Quidditch player who caught the snitch during the game in third year, a good friend, a helpful, kind, courageous man - for in Harry's eyes Cedric was indeed a man. A man who died, trying to aid him when his scar exploded with pain. Harry's eyes filled with tears as Cedric's death hit him hard, like a punch to the gut. His breath came in ragged gasps as he tried to prevent himself from sobbing at the memories of Cedric and at the way he died...

Flashback

"Kill the spare!" a voice hissed throughout the graveyard.

"Avada kedavra!" the voice of Peter Petigrew rang out next, followed by a jet of green light that shot forth from the man's wand, towards Cedric.

"NOOOOOOO! CEDRIC!" Harry shouted, trying to push his friend out of the way, but it was too late. The light had struck, and the corpse fell limply to the ground. . . .

End flashback.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Huffelpuff house. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about."

Harry raised his head and stared at Dumbledore.

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. People were staring at Dumbledore in disbelief, in horror. He looked perfectly calm as he watched them mutter themselves into silence.

"The Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore continued, "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so – either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Harry agreed absolutely with Dumbledore's actions and his words. Still grief-stricken, he did not do anything else other than nod his head silently.

"Every guest in this Hall," said Dumbledore, and his eyes lingered upon the Durmstrang students, "will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again - in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.

"It is my belief - and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken - that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst.

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

Without another word, Dumbledore clapped his hands softly, and the feast began in earnest, with so many different varieties of food on the table, just like usual. The different thing for the feast this year is that every student (save a few Slytherins) were silent and had their heads down. Even the Slytherins talked in nothing but whispers. If anyone sat closer to them, they might be surprised about what they actually were talking about.

.

.

.

"You think the dark lord is really back?" asked Theodore Nott.

"No idea, Ted. I know that if any wannabe death eaters heard this I'll be dead but..." Blaise Zabini said softly, before leaning closer to whisper, "I honestly don't feel like joining them."

Ted's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? I would've thought you would, given your pureblood point of view and stuff..."

Blaise shrugged. "I still feel purebloods are better than mudbloods, but is killing them off really a good idea? Don't tell me that the dark lord just wanted them to be slaves, Ted. I know about his reign of terror before Potter somehow killed him. Even purebloods are killed by him, you know." Blaise whispered softly. Ted frowned.

"Yeah... You know, I have always not wanted to join them, even though my father is a death eater. I know that I am kind of... a bully... but, I-I don't want to be a murderer, torturer, or psychopath!" Ted said frantically.

Blaise sighed. "Can we really help it? I don't want to join, but our parents will definitely bring us to him, force us to join..."

Their conversations were interrupted by the voice of Pansy Parkinson.

"Oh shut up, you idiots. Joining the dark lord is the best thing that can happen to any respectable pureblood!"

"Shut up, Parkinson. You might like to fling avada kedavras around, but I don't!" Blaise said angrily. Crab and Goyle just grunted in annoyance, fists clenched and ready to fight with Nott and Zabini.

"The dark lord is only clearing away filth from our world-" Parkinson said but was interrupted, surprisingly, by Draco Malfoy's strained voice cutting across her rant.

"Did you ever consider that he's also killing purebloods? I wouldn't be so iffy about joining if he's only killing mudbloods like Granger or blood traitors, who're taking away all our rights... but even pure families are killed!"

"You never did consider that those purebloods killed might've been blood traitors? Look at Regulus Black! He betrayed the death eaters and thus was murdered! If you didn't betray him he wouldn't have had reason to kill you!" Parkenson said in rage.

Ted frowned, and said softly with a strained voice, "To each their own. If you want to join that psycho, go ahead, but not all of us want to be torturers."

.

.

.

Harry sighed. He didn't really feel like eating, only picking at the food in front of him.

"I know you don't want to eat, Harry, I don't either but you need food to live," said Hermione. Harry sighed and tried, but failed, in putting food in his mouth and swallowing. Everything tasted so dull when you are thinking about your friend's death...

"Fine, don't eat then if you can't. Might get a potion from Pomfrey to help you if you are lucky!" Hermione hissed in annoyance. "Not hungry, Mione." Harry said, his voice strained.

Hermione sighed. "You still have to eat, though."

Harry just nodded and tried to actually eat the food in front of him, but he still failed to do so. A few minutes later, Hermione saw the Headmaster walking towards them and promptly told her friends.

"Dumbledore's here." Hermione said, causing Harry and Ron to look up.

"Hello again, sir."

"Why hello to you three. Harry, would you like to talk to us right now?" Dumbledore asked kindly, though even his voice sounded as though it was on the verge of cracking.

"Yes, sir, if Ron and Mione are ready as well," Harry said softly.

The two teens nodded and stood up alongside Harry. "Uhm... I'd rather we go somewhere more private. Wouldn't want ears listening in," Harry requested politely.

"To my office then," Dumbledore said and started leading the way to his office. The gargoyle moved aside when Dumbledore gave it the password (chocolate fudge) and the teens stood on the moving staircase, up to the office. The doors opened to let them through, and all three of the students were gestured to sit at the Headmaster's table before the doors closed and glowed with privacy wards.

"I guess I should start from the beginning... from the first time I... had a nightmare about him," Harry said softly, peaking the interest of his friends and the Headmaster. Phawkse flew over and perched on Harry's knee to give him comfort.

Harry then continued, describing his dream about Frank Bryce's murder during the summer before his 4th year, where Voldemort was also talking to Wormtail about his plans to have a faithful servant enter Hogwarts and bring Harry to him. HE also mentioned Voldemort needing Nagini's venom for something, but he did not know what. He mentioned that Voldemort knew about Bertha Jorkins being memory-charmed by "his faithful servant".

. .

"The rest you all know. I got entered into the Triwizard's tournament, and was told by Sirius that karkaroff's a death eater and he is a possible suspect for entering my name in the goblet. Then the rest happened pretty much like how Crouch Jr. said. He was the one to help me through the tasks, and everything. I had another nightmare or vision thingy though last night." Harry said, then paused. Ron and Hermione were shocked into speechlessness, and Dumbledore was slightly pale.

"But continue, my boy, in your own time," Dumbledore said gently.

"Lucius Malfoy went to Voldemort, talking about Fudge wanting him to hide the fact of Voldemort's return from the public. Fudge said that he didn't believe us that Voldemort came back, and wanted Malfoy to help convince others as well. That made Voldemort angry. Malfoy wanted to know how to proceed without disturbing Voldemort's plan, but Voldemort knew that Malfoy actually didn't know what to do next and so crucioed him. He then called his death eaters for a meeting, asked a few people to attack Azkaban, Malfoy to make sure the public didn't know about his return and are not too well defended from attacks, and demanded another woman to ruin Hogwarts from within by not allowing students to learn DADA and charms properly, stating that they'll need it if they want to win easily."

"Pray tell, who is the woman you speak of?" Dumbledore asked.

"I dunno. She looked strange. Like she was wearing robes but it barely hid some other clothes beneath. Pink clothes, at that. She also seems to radiate a scary aura of sweetness..." Harry shuddered visibly.

Dumbledore paled, all colour vanishing from his cheeks. "I see. I think I know who the woman is, but we might not be able to help it now... Anything else you see in the vision?"

"Nothing. MY vision ended just then. Somehow though I knew it isn't a dream, because my scar hurt, and this kind of felt like the earlier vision about Frank Bryce, and we all knew that vision of mine actually happened in reality...Dreams never manifest in reality, right?"

Dumbledore nodded, "Indeed, I think you are right in this."

Dumbledore steepled his fingers and scrutinized them closely. "If you will, dear boy, could you come here?" Dumbledore said, gesturing for Harry to stand next to him.

He then withdrew his wand, waving it in a complex pattern, then tapped it lightly on Harry's head while chanting, "Mens magicae deprehendatur."

It seemed like nothing happened (at least to the other teens), but Harry could feel the tingling sensation as magic seeped into his mind, seemingly scanning? for something. Dumbledore frowned after looking at his wand at the readings from his spell.

'Residue of a headache... That would mean that Harry's scar did hurt... But I can't see any mental patterns that suggested he dreamt anything for a while... Though I could see the visions... It seemed to be indicating it as coming from another source though. Odd.' Dumbledore thought before swishing his wand in an alpha-figure and chanting, "fons commotio revelare."

His wand glowed a feint silvery light, but it seemed as though a dark black haze was connected to it through a silvery-green line. His frowned deepened. 'What is this?' Before he could ponder further, a voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"What... What can we do about all this?" Hermione asked.

"I dunno, which is why I need your help. We need to warn the public about Voldemort's return. Even if what I talked about was just a dream, Voldemort's return is real, and the people need to know so that they can protect themselves better. But even the ministry didn't want the public to know about this, so what can we do?" Harry said contemplatively. A moment of silence followed, before Dumbledore spoke in a sudden moment of understanding.

"Memories..."

"I beg your pardon, sir?" Harry asked in confusion.

"I think, that we can extract your memories of Voldemort's return, maybe under veritaserum so people will have solid evidence about it. We also need to make sure the memories won't be tampered with by anyone. We can then play the memories in front of the Wizengamott... Being under veritaserum, all the truths will be revealed. We might also be able to help out someone innocent..."

Hermione's eyes widened. "That could work! We might even be able to help Hagrid and Sirius to clear them of their charges and prove their innocence!"

"But, Mione, Snape claims that we are confunded by Sirius about his innocence. How could we prove that the memories are actually true and we were not charmed with a confundus?" Ron asked.

"Professor Snape, Ronald. Anyway, don't you see? Memories are clearer if they are true. If we are confunded, the memories about Sirius' confession would not have been as clear as if it actually happened."

"Indeed, Miss Granger. I will make plans for what we've discussed to come true. Meantime, perhaps all of you would like to return to your dorms to do some last minute packing and get ready to leave?"

The teens nodded, and left the office with a more relaxed mind than when they entered. Dumbledore smiled to himself. 'At least Harry is brave enough to confess about his visions and about what he wants...' His smile fell away to be replaced by a deep frown. 'But why did he have those visions? Are they just simple dreams? I wonder if those readings from my mental detection charm... I should ask the opinion of other trusted legilimens like Severus, see if he could make anything out of this.' Dumbledore thought to himself, before he silently stood up, and flooed over to the Ministry of Magic.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: startling revelations

When Harry, Ron and Hermione got into an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express back home for summer holidays, they simply sat there silently for a few minutes, before the silence was broken by Ron.

"So... About the memories... Are you going to show everything? From our first year on?" he asked the other boy sitting across from him.

"I dunno... I don't think so, though. I'll probably only show memories that will change events, like prove that Hagrid's innocent about the Chamber of Secrets episode, Tom Riddle being the real culprit and the real name of Voldemort, Sirius being innocent, Wormtail being the traitor all along, and the whole Goblet of Fire stuff about Crouch Jr. and Voldemort's return." Harry answered.

"What about that dream or vision you had, about Malfoy and Voldemort wanting to ruin Hogwarts?" Ron asked.

Hermione glanced at him in slight exasperation, and said, "Honestly, Ron! You and I know it's not an actual dream, but the Minister and those people in the Ministry are just gonna think it's just a dream, with no ties to reality at all. I mean, Harry doesn't even have proof that it's not a dream and has actually happened in reality. I believe him but well..."

Harry just nodded slightly. Ron contemplated it and after a few moments, nodded in understanding. The compartment door suddenly opened and those students who were outside opening the door was... well... unexpected.

"Mind if...uhm...we came in and talked to you three a bit?" said a Slytherin student, who Harry recognised as Theodore Nott. He looked around again, and saw that other than Nott, Zabini and a few others are there as well.

"What do you want?" said Ron in annoyance. "Came to tease my family, did you? Replacing Malfoy's role as a bully?"

Nott visibly flinched. "No, we just need to talk to you about... some things..."

Before Ron could retort, Harry said, "Come in, but don't do anything that makes me suspect you."

The Slytherins walked in slowly and closed the door, Nott deliberately waving his wand about to cast privacy spells.

"Harry, what?" Ron hissed.

"You heard Dumbledore, we need to unite together to defeat Voldemort. We shouldn't just ignore all Slytherins and think they are evil or dark." Harry whispered back, though it was loud enough for Hermione to hear and say, "Very mature, Harry. IT is not our abilities or even our family that make us, it is our choices."

Harry smiled slightly, remembering that Dumbledore had used almost the exact words to describe his differences with Voldemort after second year.

"So... Why have all of you came in here, exactly? What do you need to talk to us about?" Harry asked after the Slytherins have comfortably sat down. A few of them fidgeted at Harry's question. Zabini was the first to recover, and promptly said, "About You-Know-Who."

The whole compartment went deathly silent for a few moments, the Gryffindors surprised at what Zabini said and the Slytherins nervous about what's to come next.

"OK... What... What did you need to talk to us about him?" Ron asked curiously and without any sign of anger. He had calmed down after what Harry and Hermione said earlier about choices and unity - after all, what they said is entirely right. That question, however, made all the Slytherins subconsciously move into a slightly defensive position.

"This may come as a shock... But... All of us here... We... We don't... We aren't on his side, nor are we his followers despite the fact that our parents are," said a Slytherin Harry didn't recognise. Was his name something like Dedalus Dolohov? Or was it Darius?

The Gryffindors are stunned. 'Wouldn't that effectively be considered betrayal to the dark lord and their own parents? And wouldn't they be forced to join?' they thought to themselves. The want to be silent to listen and their curiosity warred with each other until Ron posed those vary questions to the Slytherins.

"Yeah... But we... I don't honestly care if we die cause of them or what, as long as I don't become... something like them... I don't even care if my dad considers me a traitor to the family or to their lord... Not like he loved me anyway, always abusing me at home..." Nott said softly, surprising the Gryffindors even more. They had thought that the bruises on Nott's body were there because he was involved in fights with other students, perhaps from the struggling of his bully victims, but this was unexpected. Harry and the others no longer wondered why Nott was such a prick now - he simply needed some channel to release his anger and bitterness. Bullying is his way of doing so.

Another Slytherin - could his name be Jason McNair - then said, nervously, "I guess what we're trying to say here is... that you... you have our friendship and allegiance. . . ."

The three Gryffindors were honestly surprised they haven't fainted from the number of surprises for the day. First Dumbledore revealing the cause of Cedric's death, then the opening of their compartment door by, not Draco Malfoy and his goons, but other Slytherins, then the revelation that they aren't loyal to Voldemort, and finally their allegiance to them?

Harry was the first to recover, though, and smiled. "Friends." he said simply and extended his hand out for handshakes. Nott was the first to accept, followed by Zabini, Dolohov, McNair, and all the others in the compartment. Ron and Hermione also extended their hands for a shake, and they were accepted as well, however hesitantly or reluctantly, by the Slytherins - some of them still have issues about blood purity - after all, those deep-seeded beliefs aren't just going to fade in a heartbeat.

OOO

A few days later...

Harry laid on his bed after a long day of chores assigned to him by Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, thinking back to recent events. The events on the train still surprised him, but he was happy about it none the less. Right after they came down from the train, the Dursleys were met by Harry and, surprisingly, Arthur Weasley, the real Alastor Moody, and Remus Lupin. The situation about Voldemort's return was explained to them, and they were asked (demanded) to take good care of Harry and love him as they would their own son. The Dursleys just scowled and drove away, Harry alongside them in the car. After that well... the usual happened. The constant chores, the belittling, the taunts... but Harry noticed something peculiar about their hatred for him. It seems as though, at their angriest, his uncle's and aunt's eyes would glow faintly red, and it seemed as though they had a slight internal struggle with something, Harry the source. He also wondered about the curious tugging he felt on his... soul... whenever one of those episodes occurred. He thought back to one of those nights where he had to meditate to calm himself about a particularly nasty nightmare he had, and particularly to what he thought he discovered... Pure evil energies in his soul and the negativity he could sense in and around him. HE could sort of feel it try to corrupt him into acting negatively, but why did he have those energies in him? And why did it feel as though it didn't originate with him? And why is it that whenever the Dursleys are angry with him that the negative energy will seem to spike in strength before calming back down?

-Tap-Tap-Tap

He looked up at the sound to see that an owl was outside the window of his room. Walking over and gently opening the window, he beckoned the owl in, giving it some treats which it happily pecked at. Harry then gently undid the knots tying a letter to its leg, and looked at the sealed envelope with his name written on the back in a loopy handwriting. HE didn't recognise the stylised seal, but knew that the letter was safe since he couldn't feel any malevolent magics on it. He tore the envelope open and began to read.

. . .

Dear Mr. Potter,

You have been summoned to a Wizengamot meeting that will be held in Courtroom 10 at the Ministry of Magic on Wednesday, July 5th, 1995. The Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Albus Dumbledore, will personally see to your transportations and will take you to the meeting place at the assigned date. We hope to see you there.

Yours sincerely,

Amelia Bones,

Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,

Jury for the Wizengamot,

Primary assistant to the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

OOO

Wednesday morning, July 5th...

Ding-Dong goes the doorbell at Number 4, Privet Drive, at about 9:30 AM on that day. Aunt Petunia immediately stood and opened the door to see who's at the other side, and was promptly greeted by the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Ah, Mrs. Dursley, it's nice to see you again. I am here to take Mr. Potter to the Ministry of Magic for a meeting. I trust he told you?"

Petunia just scowled, but nodded at him. "He's inside. I'll call him out to see you."

She then walked into the home and hissed to her nephew, "Your Headmaster's here, boy. Get going."

Harry nodded at her, thanked her for calling him, and walked out to meet the professor.

"Hello, Sir." Harry said with a smile.

"Why, good day to you Mr. Potter. Whenever you are ready to go, you can hold my arm. We are going to apparate to the Ministry."

Harry nodded uncertainly then hesitantly held Dumbledore's arm. Not a moment later, strange sensations could be felt. Harry felt as though he was squeezed from all sides, hard. His eyes felt as though they are being pressed into their sockets, his ears felt tight against his head, and he generally felt queasy after the sensation of being forcefully ejected from an extremely narrow hosepipe passed. He doubled over, gasping and trying to hold his breakfast in, without spewing all over the area. He shuddered at the sensations then looked around, to see ministry officials and what could only be the atrium of the Ministry. Fireplaces lined one wall, probably for floo travel, and a statue of men and women being looked at with adoration by house elves and other magical creatures can be seen. Dumbledore smiled at him then helped him up, gently guiding him to the elevator, and down to the bottom floor where Courtroom 10 is.

OOO

"Wizengamot meeting of the 5th of July, 1995." Fudge said, starting the meeting.

"Main interrogator, Madam Amelia Bones. Main witnesses are as follows: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic. Albus Percival Wulfric Bryan Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Dolores Jane Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic." Fudge continued. "The floor's open."

"Dear witches and wizards, Mr. Harry Potter and I have come today to reveal to you what truly happened in recent years. What happened with the sorcerer's Stone, what happened during the Chamber of secrets episode, who the actual traitor of the Potters or killer of 12 muggles is, and what happened during the return of Voldemort. And perhaps anything else Mr. Potter wishes to reveal to us today." Dumbledore said after standing up. "IF you will, Madam Bones, administer the Veritaserum on Mr. Potter."

Bones nodded, walked over to Harry, and dripped 3 drops of the clear liquid into his open mouth. There were no chairs for the accused this time since Harry wasn't accused of any crime, so he sat near where the witnesses were, though more towards the front.

A few seconds later, a glazed look came over Harry's eyes, and Bones immediately started testing the Veritaserum before the real interrogation starts.

"What is your name?"

"Harry James Potter."

"How old are you?"

"14 years old, reaching 15 in less than a month."

Bones nodded, confirming that the Veritaserum was effective, then started to ask questions related to what they were about to discuss.

"What happened in your first year, particularly towards the sorcerer's stone?"

Harry replied tonelessly (still under the effects of the potion), "Destroyed. After Quirell tried to steal it for Voldemort and I somehow saved it through the mirror of erised, Dumbledore thought it isn't safe to keep it at Hogwarts anymore. Said that he talked to Nickolas Flamel before doing so, and they agreed for it to be destroyed."

"Stealing it for V-Voldemort? Can you explain there?"

"Voldemort's behind his head. Quirell's turban covered his face. Voldemort decided to reveal himself to me after I saw Quirell in the last chamber where the stone is. Told me Quirell had been drinking unicorn blood to sustain him but he needed a more permanent solution so sought the sorcerer's stone so he could extract the elixir of life."

"What then happened in your second year? Particularly incidents related to the chamber of secrets?"

"Was warned by Dobby not to go back to Hogwarts. I didn't listen to him, but I still failed to board the train because the barrier sealed itself up. Flew Arthur Weasley's car to the school but it started malfunctioning and ended up crashing into the womping willow. Got detention for that, and I had to help that fraud Lockhart to answer his fan mail. That's when I heard a voice talking about blood, tearing flesh and killing. At Halloween, I didn't attend the feast cause I was attending the deathday party for Nearly-headless Nick. When we came back we saw the message about the chamber of secrets being opened and enemies of the heir beware. Saw Mrs. Noriss petrified and hanging from a torch sconce. Didn't tell any adults about the voice I heard because Hermione said that hearing voices isn't normal even in the wizarding world. A few more petrifications happened, one of them involving Hermione. Hagrid's imprisoned since people thought he opened the chamber, and I thought so too until I followed his instructions to follow the spiders. We met with a giant acromantula named Aragog in the forbidden forest who told us Hagrid is innocent and the monster in the chamber is one that spiders fear most. Ron and I were saved from being eaten by his dad's lost flying car, and we went to see Hermione only to find a note about basilisks and it traveling through pipes. Everything started to fit then. We tried to ask Lockhart for help but he tried to obliviate us instead, but ended up obliviating himself and causing a rockslide. Ron and Lockhart were stuck on the other side, so I went forward alone and discovered Tom Marvolo Riddle's memory and an unconscious Ginny. It told me everything, about how Ginny opened the chamber through possession, and about him being Voldemort. He called the basilisk to kill me, but Fawkes and the sorting hat came to me, and Fawkes blinded the basilisk while I pulled the sword of Gryffindor out of the hat and stabbed it. Its fangs almost killed me but Fawkes helped me by crying on the wound. I used the fang to stab the diary where Riddle's memory came from, hoping it would be destroyed. . . ."

The interrogations continued, with Harry revealing everything about the Prisoner of Azkaban and the Goblet of Fire episode to the entire Wizengamot. Bones then asked, "Can you give us your memories about all those events you have described?"

Harry did not reply, instead he just nodded. Bones raised her wand to Harry's temple, extracting long, silvery strands of memory substance and placing it into a vial. "Tamperus prevento." she casted over the bottle of memories. She then dripped a few drops of veritaserum-antidote into Harry's mouth, causing the glazed look to disappear from his eyes.

"We shall now view the memories of Mr. Potter, extracted while under the effects of Veritaserum, and charmed with an anti-tampering spell. Let it be known to all that evidence from memories is irrefutable, as memories forced upon someone using a confundus or a memory charm is not as clear as actual memories, and can be easily discerned from actual memories of a person." Bones said before pouring the memories into a pensieve, then casting something over it, causing the memories to play as though it was being projected.

-A few hours later, after all memories have been viewed-

Everyone in the courtroom were stunned speechless. All of what Harry said have been the truth, and a thorough mental check had been done by an expert legilimens who had taken an unbreakable vow to tell only the truth. Harry had not been confunded, obliviated, nor had his mind tampered with in any way.

"I, myself, have a memory to share, and am willing to lower my occlumency shields and take veritaserum before memory extraction. This memory is also related to Voldemort's return," Dumbledore said softly. Bones only nodded, her brain going into autopilot mode. Dumbledore, indeed, lowered his occlumency shields and drank the veritaserum. Bones then questioned him about what he wanted to share after the preliminary questions to determine the effectiveness of the Veritaserum. Dumbledore's memories were then extracted and charmed with an anti-tampering spell by Madam Bones, and played in front of everyone. Fudge's denial about Voldemort's return is shown. Even the veritaserum usage on Crouch was shown to them. These memories caused them to completely go into shock. Well, Dumbledore's memories didn't exactly surprise Madam Bones as she had been there at the incident, but it completely stunned all the other members of the court.

"It... I... So I suggest that a vote of no confidence on Cornelius Fudge be held soon. The people should also be told all this, and be allowed to vote for a new minister if the vote of confidence shows that the majority of people did not support Fudge anymore. I also think that a man, specifically Sirius Black, has been wrongly imprisoned... If Pettigrew's alive, Sirius at least deserves another trial to see if he truly killed 12 muggles - we know now that the claim that Pettigrew was murdered by Black was fake." the voice of one of the Wizengamot members could be heard. Fudge spluttered.

"Didn't you hear what I was saying! In the memories? I... I just didn't want the public to worry about Voldemort's return! It's better for all to be ignorant, otherwise our world won't be peaceful anymore!"

"I disagree, Minister. Precautions must be taken so that the people are protected from Voldemort, not emotionally, but actual proper protection, which means that the people need to know that he has returned!" another Wizengamot member commented. A "Hem, hem" can be heard before anything else was said. The senior undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge, stood up. Harry paled when he noted that the woman seemed to be the same one as the death eater with pink outfits beneath the robes he had seen in his vision.

"Pardon me, but it seems that both of these gentlemen are undermining the ministry's authority. One states that Sirius Black should receive another trial when he was clearly found guilty in the first, and the second doubts the Minister's decision when it clearly benefits the wizarding public. I object to both of them staying here, as they obviously will cause more problems in the future."

"As Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I have the authority to have them continue to stay here. They are only stating opinions, after all, and every member has the right to do so. Besides, the memories of Mr. Potter under Veritaserum have opened up a new can of evidence that just cannot be ignored. A re-trial will occur and a search party for Peter Pettigrew will be made - that is, if Madam Bones agrees?" Dumbledore said, to a nod from the head of the DMLE.

After that, chaos ensued in the courtroom as many of the Wizengamot members shouted things at once.

"How dare you doubt the Minister of Magic!" "I agree with Dumbledore and the others!" "Potter might have ways to prevent Veritaserum working on him or somehow tricked us!" "The first questions Bones asked Potter couldn't be properly classified as confirmations questions! Potter could've been ordered by Dumbledore to tell the truth at that time!" "The dark lord must not have returned!" "We clearly have evidence of Pettigrew's death, Potter is lying!" Soon enough, Dumbledore was forced to silence the shouting members by shouting and casting spells over them.

"All in favor for the vote of no confidence?" Dumbledore asked. Almost everyone raised their hands.

"All in favor for the Minister continuing to hold his post, without a vote of no confidence?" Dumbledore asked again. This time, only 5 people raised their hands, Lucius Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge among them.

"Motion passed. The vote of no confidence will be held. Discussions may follow after I send Mr. Potter back home. Now, all in favor for Sirius Orion Black to get a trial?" Dumbledore asked again.

Everyone, save Fudge and Umbridge, raised their hands. Even Lucius Malfoy did, since he wanted to find the real traitor. If Pettigrew is still alive, he might've been the actual traitor all along. He wanted more information.

"Motion passed. If trial indicates that Sirius Orion Black is innocent, the Ministry will pay recompense for their mistake. The search party suggestion will not be voted on, as it falls under the DMLE and will be decided straight up by Madam Bones. Now excuse me and Mr. Potter."

The Wizengamot members nodded and sat back down on their seats, thinking deeply about everything that had transpired.

OOO

"Harry?" Dumbledore said after apparating back to Privet Drive.

"Yes sir?"

"Just know that... you can trust me with things. Even unusual things such as hearing voices through Hogwarts' walls and other stuff. Also, you won't be staying here for much longer, as I will bring you somewhere else about a week from now. Somewhere where you can spend time with your friends and your godfather," Dumbledore answered with a smile.

Harry perked up at that and asked hopefully, "Really, sir?"

"Indeed. And you might even meet a few other people who might become your friend or mentor there. Now before you ask, I cannot tell you where the location is yet, as the place is under the fidelius charm. I will show it to you the day you go there," Dumbledore said. Harry smiled, then entered the house. As he was about to close the door, he turned around and said, "Thanks, sir... for everything. For arranging the meeting and all."

"It is my pleasure, Mr. Potter. After all, this meeting benefits a lot of people, and not just you, so I am actually the one that's supposed to thank you for being brave enough to show those memories to the Wizengamot."

Harry just smiled, before remembering something else he needed to say.

"Professor... I... I think that the pink woman in my vision... the one Voldemort ordered to ruin Hogwarts... is the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister... at least, she looked like the woman I think I saw."

"I see. I have suspected as much when I saw you pale and when I saw the resemblance of Madam Umbridge with the woman you described. We shall see."

Harry just nodded. Dumbledore smiled then left with a crack. Harry then closed the door and went to his room, exhausted from everything earlier.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Grimauld Place

Lucius was livid. His plans with the dark lord had failed quite spectacularly, with everyone now aware about his return instead of oblivious. It had all been the fault of the Potter brat and that old fool Dumbledore. He had never been forced to put his wand outside the chambers where Wizengamot meetings are held before. TO further complicate matters and infuriate him, they are all frisked and he had apparently been found with an extra wand he kept just for the occasions where his main wand was inaccessible. The truth had then been revealed to everyone via Potter's memories, and because he didn't have any wands with him, he could not cast an area wide obliviate. Even if he had wands with him he doubted that he could do that spell, seeing as Dumbledore and Bones were still there and they are resistant to most mental magics... and doing that obliviate stunt would have most definitely landed him in Azkaban for attempted erasing of evidence. He scowled softly.

'Something might be salvageable. If Fudge is sacked then...' he smiled evilly to himself as a plan solidified in his mind. 'I just need to discuss it with the dark lord... He's probably angry with me though...' Lucius shuddered, then disapparated with a soft crack.

OOO

Tuesday morning, July 11

Harry smiled to himself. He could finally leave Privet Drive! Though to where exactly, he had no idea. He only knew that Dumbledore will come for him today since he had written so in his last letter. Rechecking the loose floor board under the bed and looking around his room, he made sure everything he needed was packed properly in his trunk. The Dursleys had gone out for a shopping trip, apparently to buy gifts for Dudley, as if he didn't have enough already...

-Crack-

Harry gave a start and immediately drew his wand as the sound of an apparation reached his ears. He crouched behind the door of his room, trying to be cautious just like what Dumbledore told him to do. Sure, the wizard that'd made the apparating noise might be Dumbledore, but for all he knew it might have been Voldemort, or Karkaroff, or whoever.

An instant later, he heard the gentle voice of his old headmaster outside the door, saying, "Harry? It's just me, Professor Dumbledore. May I come in?"

"Sure... No, wait. Prove it to me that you are Dumbledore!" Harry said, wand still held tightly in his hand.

"Why, I have a phoenix named Phawkse, like lemon drops, and was the one who ordered Snape to bring me veritaserum to question the fake Moody and opened the 7th compartment of the multi-compartment trunk to find the real Moody. Did I mention I was the one bringing you to the Wizengamot chambers, told you you can tell me anything even about hearing voices, and wrote you a letter about bringing you from here? You denied that you had anything to tell me when I asked you about things in your second year. Oh, and the password that I wrote to you about in the letter is Lemon Fudge."

Harry sighed to himself. "I believe you, sir. You can come in now."

Dumbledore opened the door and stepped in, eyeing Harry's wand still tightly held in his hand.

"Why, Harry, I am so happy you did not let your guard down even though you had proof that it was me. After all, the impossible happens sometimes."

Harry shrugged, and a blush crept onto his face. He decided not to answer.

"So, are you ready to go, mboy?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.

"Yes, sir. But uhm... where are we actually going to?"

"Well, you will know soon enough when we arrive there." Dumbledore replied with a smirk. The man and boy then walked out of the house and Dumbledore disapparated alongside his young charge.

Harry looked around in curiosity. The neighbourhood he found himself in seemed... strange. He was standing between house number 11 and... 13? He didn't see number 12 anywhere, but Dumbledore didn't guide him away from where it should be.

"Well here you go, Harry, why don't you read this to yourself and we'll see what happens?" Dumbledore actually grinned as he handed the small slip of parchment to him.

Harry looked at it curiously. 'Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix: number 12, Grimauld Place' had been written on the parchment. As soon as he read the message, house number 12 seemed to appear out of thin air in front of him. The other houses seemed to be moved away towards where they are supposed to be now - number 11 right next to 12 and then 13 - but the people in there didn't seem to notice. The parchment glowed bright red before disintegrating into ashes.

"Is that?" Harry purposefully left the sentence hanging, letting Dumbledore fill in the blanks.

"Yes, Harry mboy. This house is fedeliused, and I just let you in on the secret so to speak. Shall we go in?"

Harry nodded hesitantly. Dumbledore just chuckled at his hesitancy and opened the door, guiding Harry in.

Harry didn't even get a chance to look around before he was crushed in a hug from Mrs. Weasley. He winced slightly but didn't say anything as he returned the hug, and just as swiftly the hug ended, to be replaced by a gentle hug from his godfather, Sirius Black, and his favourite DADA professor so far, Remus Lupin.

"Mrs. Weasley? Sirius? Professor Lupin? Why are you all here?" Harry said after the surprise of the hugs wore off.

"Why, this is my house, Harry. And the others are here on Dumbledore's invitation for... well, something secretive. There are more people in other rooms in here, you know. Moody, your friends..." Sirius explained.

Before Sirius or any other adult in the room could continue, Mrs. Weasley said, "Cmere, Harry, and have some brunch. You must be hungry, look at how thin you are!"

Harry smiled slightly, quite touched by Mrs. Weasley's concern. Sure, she had helped him before this but having someone almost like a mother figure was so comforting, but yet so foreign to him.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said with a smile while walking towards the table and eagerly eating the scrambled eggs and bacon on the table.

"Sirius... Here's a letter inviting you for a Wizengamot meeting tomorrow. We sincerely hope that you would join the meeting." Dumbledore said before handing an envelope to the man.

"Now what's the meeting for, Albus?" Sirius asked curiously.

"You will find out soon enough when you read the letter. Let's just say that you won't be disappointed if you come. I have to go now, though. Ministry business. I'll see you tomorrow then, as I actually have no doubt that you will join the meeting." Dumbledore said to the people present in the room. The others all nodded at him, but just as he was about to open the door, it slammed open almost right into his face as a woman stumbled and tripped, almost landing on his leg. She squeaked in surprise and said, in a high-pitched and slightly horrified voice, "Sorry, Dumbledore! Didn't mean to trip over like that!"

The commotion made a few people from other rooms in the house - Moody, Ron, and a tall black auror - run towards them, wands drawn.

"What's all this about?" Moody growled.

Moody's growl and the other noise in the house, unfortunately, caused more chaos as one of the portraits on the wall - the portrait of an overdressed woman wearing thick makeup - suddenly screeched, "Filthy mudbloods and halfbloods! Dirtying the house of Black! Abominations!"

Sirius managed to stop the portrait from yelling by covering it over with some curtains and glaring at it slightly.

"Well, now that my mother's silenced temporarily... Hello, Tonks." Sirius said rather cheerily, but before he could help the young, pink-haired woman up, a small hand had reached for her and aided her to her feet. She blushed, turning her hair red and startling Harry, Ron and Hermione, before saying a soft, "Real sorry sir."

She then gazed backwards, and said, "Thanks, bro. Go on in and mingle with the other kids, won't you? I have work to do here with the older ones,"

The nod of a head can be seen behind Tonks, before she moved into the house, and the head and hands that aided her up were revealed to be ones that belonged to a child of about 11 with black hair and blue eyes. He stepped over shyly to the table where the other teens have gathered at, before a tray landed right in front of him filled with food. A soft mutter of thanks was all Mrs. Weasley got from the young boy.

"Ere, let's move tah the other room, make sure the kids won't hear us." Moody said to the other adults around, save Dumbledore who had left. Sirius though had other ideas.

"Hold on, Alastor, I want to know what this meeting is about first." he said, pointing to the letter held in his hand. Moody nodded, and the other adults waited, just as curious as Sirius to know what may be written in the parchment.

.

.

.

Dear Mr. Black,

You have been invited to a Wizengamot meeting on Wednesday, July 12, at courtroom 10 at 9 AM. This is because that we at the ministry realised that a mistake might be made concerning your imprisonment at Azkaban. Recently revealed evidence suggests that Peter Pettigrew might still be alive, and that you might be innocent. Kindly attend the meeting so we can try you and perhaps release you if our suspicions prove to be accurate.

Sincerely,

Madam Amelia Bones,

Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,

Jury for the Wizengamot,

Assistant to the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

.

.

.

The other adults were stunned into silence as tears fell from Sirius' cheeks after he finished reading the letter for the second time.

"Could this... could this be true?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"Oh, yeah, that is true, Sirius. Someone in the Wizengamot suggested you get a trial after the session I attended last Wednesday where I revealed memories about your innocence in front of the whole court." Harry said.

Sirius immediately sprang forward and hugged him tightly, causing Harry to gasp in surprise and slight pain. The hug easily rivaled one of Molly's rib crushers, but even though it hurt slightly, Harry was happy.

"Oh, thank you, thanks a lot, Harry! You at least played some role in allowing me this chance to be a free man!" Sirius said while still sobbing. Harry just smiled slightly, happy for his godfather. After regaining his composure, Sirius spoke.

"Alright, Alastor, let's go into that room for the meeting now, I think I'm ready for it."

The adults there nodded, and followed him into the room where he gestured towards. The doors closed after every adult there went in, and glowed from being charmed. Harry then sat down at the table to continue eating his brunch.

OOO

Harry looked at the kid sitting next to him, and after a few moments of hesitancy, smiled and extended his hand out for a shake.

"Hello there. Uhm, my name is Harry Potter. What's yours?"

The child looked up in surprise, his eyes briefly flicking towards the famous scar on the forehead of the Boy-Who-Lived, before answering, "Uhm... I-I'm Orion Tonks. Nice to meet you."

Introductions and handshakes are then continued, with Orion meeting the other teens around the table - Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. Fred and George were, undoubtedly, trying to listen in on whatever private stuff was being discussed in the other room.

"Uhm... So what's the Order of the Phoenix? I saw that written on the slip of parchment Dumbledore handed me to reveal to me where this house is," Harry asked after swallowing a mouthful of food.

"The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organisation fighting against V-V-Voldemort, created and led by Dumbledore," Hermione said in answer, cringing slightly at Voldemort's name along with the others at the table save Harry.

"How long have you known about... about all this?" he asked curiously.

"Well since... a few days ago. We came here earlier than you did, mate. We knew when mum mentioned it to us. She knew we're gonna be curious and try to find out anyway, so decided to save us the trouble."

"And? You decided not to tell me in any of your letters?" Harry said in slight annoyance. "I was the one who fought Voldemort last year, I should know about the order! I could help or something!"

"We-We have been ordered n-not to t-t-tell you. by... by Pr-Professor Dumbledore. Besides, w-we are all un-underage, and ca-cannot join t-the order," Hermione stuttered, feeling the waves of magic and anger from Harry.

Harry suddenly snapped. "I'm no longer a child! I should be told and not be kept in the dark like this!"

Hermione gasped slightly when she noticed Harry's eyes glow a slight red. No one else seemed to notice, or so it seemed to Hermione, who was completely unaware that a 10-year-old (almost 11) soon to be first year noticed as well. Everyone there cringed at Harry's angered shout. surprisingly it was Orion (not Hermione) who spoke up first.

"C-Calm down, Ha-Harry! Please, I know how you feel, look I only knew about the order when Hermione told us just now, too, despite the fact that my sister is a member of it. But being angry leads you nowhere." the child said, his hair turning a calm blue colour. The other teens gasped slightly at that but didn't comment, though Harry seemed to not even notice.

Harry growled, then glared around at everyone before calming down after a few moments.

"Sorry. I dunno what came over me... Just suddenly felt so angry and..."

"I-It's OK, Harry." said Hermione.

'But is it really? Is it just my imagination or did his eyes actually glow like that? And why did he suddenly become so snappish? He's usually better at controlling emotions, even if just a little bit...' such thoughts whirled around in Hermione's head, but she did not voice any of them out loud.

"So uhm... How did... how did you turn your hair different colours like that? And how did your sister do it? Did she not have a first name? Sirius only called her Tonks," Ron said while looking over at Orion, (with black hair now) trying to lighten the topic after Harry's outburst.

"Oh, my sister and I are what's called metamorphmagi. We can change our appearance at will. It's a natural gift. And her name is Nymphadora Tonks, but uhm... Don't call her by her first name unless you wanna get hexed, she hates it with a passion."

A look of understanding dawned on Hermione's face, but she still stared at Orion with confusion.

"Why did your sister bring you here again? I mean, surely she realises that she came here for a serious order meeting?"

"Well, my parents are both somewhere else. They can't take care of me, so the next person to do so is my sister. I told them I could stay at home alone, but they don't want me to, said it's too dangerous with You-Know-Who's return." Orion's reply came swiftly.

Ginny suddenly slammed a copy of the daily prophet on the table between them, and said, "You might want to see that, Harry."

Harry looked at it curiously, and his eyebrows rose almost to his hairline as he read.

YOU-KNOW-WHO: TRUTHS REVEALED!

by Rupert McGreggar.

On Wednesday, July 5, Harry Potter revealed everything about You-Know-Who's return in a Wizengamot meeting in courtroom 10. He was put under veritaserum and questioned extensively by one Madam Amelia Bones, head of the DMLE. To remove all doubts about what Mr. Potter said, Madam Bones extracted the memories of important events that Potter was willing to share and placed an anti-tampering charm on it. The memories reveal that Rubius Hagrid is innocent of the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, Tom Marvolo Riddle is the real name of You-Know-Who and the real culprit behind the chamber of secrets, Sirius Black is innocent of all charges with Peter Pettigrew being the actual criminal, and Cedric Diggory's death is caused by the killing curse cast by Peter Pettigrew under the command of You-Know-Who in a graveyard at Little Hangleton.

"All of that was such a shock to me. I knew that Dumbledore had revealed about Diggory's death and all, but I honestly didn't believe him. Well, now I can't deny it seeing as the memories of Mr. Potter are all revealed to us. His mind had been checked over too, by an expert legilimens, and they confirmed that his mind isn't damaged or altered in any way," said Wizengamot member Ian Jennings.

Albus Dumbledore also had a memory to share with all of us concerning You-Know-Who's return. Every Wizengamot member were stunned when they saw what the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, tried to do. He sent in dementors during the interrogation of a suspect - Bartemious Crouch Jr. - and almost caused the deaths of the suspect and Madam Bones. He thought Madam Bones had tricked him by providing fake Veritaserum for the interrogation session for Crouch Jr. was still talking about You-Know-Who's return after it was administered. Fortunately, they were saved in the nick of time by Dumbledore's phoenix patronus. The Minister had tried to deny Voldemort's return, then tried to save face by saying that he did not want the public to worry about You-Know-Who. He wanted to stay in office to ensure so, but what Auror Shacklebolt said in the memory is right. He said that we would want to know even though it caused us to panic just so we will have our guard up, instead of not knowing and have our family and friends slaughtered. I say to you now, do we still want Fudge as the minister after such a blatant attempt at denying the undeniable and erasing the evidence? A vote of no confidence will be held at a later date and a new Minister may be chosen if the results indicate that the people have lost confidence in our Minister.

For the memories shown in the Wizengamot meeting, tap your wand on the crystal ball (sent alongside the prophet) and it shall then play as if it is being projected.

OOO

"Well at least we know now that the prophet can print truths as well as lies," Harry said after a moment of silence.

Those at the table laughed slightly at what had just been said.

"So... Should we see the memories?" Ron asked curiously. "I only heard tales of some of those stuff, and even Hermione must be curious about how we proved that Hagrid's innocent... Orion should probably not see some of them though..."

He was abruptly cut off by Orion. "Nah, I can see them fine. Really, I'm much stronger than you might think I am. I've already seen blood before and stuff, so I'm used to it."

The others stared at him slightly, surprise etched onto their faces. "Blood?" Harry asked.

"Yeah... I've seen my parents and my sister injured in the line of duty as aurors and stuff... That's one of the reasons I want to be a healer when I grow up."

The others gave resigned nods, before Hermione tapped her wand on the crystal ball, and memories played themselves like movies projected on a screen.

. . .

"Wow blimy..." were the only words that had been spoken by Hermione after a long moment of stunned silence after the memories had finished playing. Ginny was hugging Ron tightly, apprehension clear on her face. Ron was completely stunned to the point where no emotion showed on his pale face. Harry was in tears, especially after Cedric's death replayed itself in his head. Orion just stared, eyes wide, at the wall where the memories had been projected earlier.

"I... think... that we need... the help from... the order... You know, in learning how to defend ourselves. We are really weak in that subject due to the sporadic styles of professors, with one being a stuttering guy with a shade possessing him, the other being a bumbling baboon... The last two being the best but still..." Hermione said softly. Everyone else there nodded.

"We'll talk to them later... when their meeting's finished," mumbled Harry. "Should probably learn something from the twins too..." he said with a slight chuckle.

With that in mind, they continued eating in silence, before games of exploding snap and chess were started. 'This is war,' was the thought that struck every single one of them.

-Evening of the same day, after the order meeting-

Remus and Moody were in the Black family library, studying and doing research about something when they were interrupted by a group of kids and teenagers coming in.

"Erm, excuse me Professor Lupin and Professor Moody," Hermione started somewhat nervously. "The others here and I wondered if... if we could... could get defense lessons from you people?"

Remus looked up from his book, then studied the students (and a soon-to-be first year) curiously. "And why do you want to have defense lessons from us?"

"See, after we saw Harry's memories about You-Know-Who being projected from the crystal ball thingy, we thought we should learn to defend ourselves should anything similar happens to us. I mean, sure, the possibilities of that happening are kind of extremely remote but still... This is war isn't it? Even children can be targeted..." Ron replied to Remus' earlier inquiry. Moody just looked at them grimly.

"Aye, tis war we're talkin' about ere. I'd agree to teach all of ya defense, if I can get agreement from Dumbledore. Ye are all Hogwarts students after all, even kid over there's startin' this year. Being students, agreement from the Headmaster should be gotten before anythin's done."

"Will you... will you ask the Headmaster for us, please?" Ginny asked hopefully.

Remus and Moody just nodded, smiling slightly, though Moody's smile made his scars stretch out and make him look even more horrifying. It was a genuine smile nonetheless.

"Course we will, and I can't see Dumbledore disagreein'. One tip I can give you for beginner's defense though is constant vigilance!" Moody said in answer. That caused the others there to smile appreciatively and mutter a thank you.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Trials, Training, and Prophecies

-Wednesday morning, July 12-

Sirius was nervous, and that was an understatement. This was the only chance he had to prove his innocence. He was afraid that the ministry might decide that something he've tried to hide for many years could become a charge levelled against him. Sure, at that time (and even now) it brought benefits to Moony and himself, but the ministry now knew the Marauder's secrets of being unregistered animagi - at least his - and with the current situations, anything could happen. He fidgeted, only managing to take one or two mouthfuls during breakfast, before declaring that he will have to leave before he decided to change his mind. He disapparated with a crack to the ministry atrium, managing not to splinch himself. Dumbledore had offered to bring him there earlier but he decided to come alone and by his own power.

OOO

"Wizengamot meeting of the 12th of July, 1995. Witnesses are as follows: Albus Percival Wulfric Bryan Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, witness for the defence. Madam Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, acting Minister of Magic up until election. Madam Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the X-Minister of Magic." Dumbledore intoned, starting the meeting. "We all know why this meeting is held - to retry Sirius Black, who was charged for killing 12 muggles, betraying the Potter's to Lord Voldemort, and killing Peter Pettigrew 13 years ago. This retrial is held due to new evidence possibly revealing that all previous charges levelled against Mr. Black may be false. New charges of being an unregistered animagus might be levelled against the abused, however, depending on results of the questioning under Veritaserum. Aurors, lead the prisoner in." Dumbledore continued. He deliberately made sure that there are no dementors here at this trial. As the Chief Warlock, he had the power to exclude them in Wizengamot meetings to try accused criminals. Dementors might be used against them in this case (not to mention the fact that Sirius had extreme reactions to them due to his memories about his friends' deaths), so he decided to play safe, previous experience with Crouch showing him that the dementors will obey anyone's order to kiss anyone.

Sirius was roughly pushed into the chamber and was forced to sit on the chair for the accused, from which chains promptly sprang fourth and bound him tightly before Madam Bones dripped the Veritaserum into the man. The questioning then followed, with all Dumbledore's previous claims of Sirius being innocent of the crime of murdering being proved true. The truth about the Potters' secret keeper was revealed. The charge of being an unregistered animagus was levelled, as is expected, but a majority of the members voted that the 12 years Sirius spent in Azkaban was more than enough punishment for such a crime.

"Chief Warlock, if I might... The search party for Mr. Pettigrew have started the job of finding him last Thursday. They cannot find him as yet, however. I am sure that Mr. Black's revelation that Mr. Pettigrew is an unregistered rat animagus will help in the search, and I will promptly deliver this information to the leader of the party. I will also personally reward Sirius Black with 100 galleons for revealing such information." Bones said. Dumbledore smiled brightly and praised Bones for a job well done.

"Mr. Black, the recompense of 100000 galleons (10000 for each year with 2 years deducted for punishment of being an illegal animagus) will be placed in the Black family account. You can leave now." Dumbledore said. The chains binding Sirius retreated, allowing him to stand, give a bow of thanks to Dumbledore and the Wizengamot members, and leave the ministry by apparating back to Grimauld from the atrium.

OOO

The news of Sirius' innocence spread through the house like wildfire, and he got not a few hugs from Molly, Ginny and the other girls, and backslaps from the men and boys that were there. The party held for celebration wasn't anything grand, but it was certainly a happy occasion. The happiness increased when Dumbledore arrived at Grimauld and told them that a suspected death eater that had been in the Wizengamot chamber as a spy was captured, tried, and found guilty of multiple charges that had him sentenced for life in Azkaban.

-Thursday morning, July 13-

Moody and Remus had stayed true to their word, in that they got agreement from Dumbledore to teach the teens defence. Moody also decided that they might as well make sure the kids knew how to fight too should a situation where they need to dual arises. The lessons started from this morning, and a few of the students were starting to wonder whether they made the right choice to learn defence...

.

.

.

"For today, we're gonna have the lessons start simple. We'll stretch then run for a few laps in the large field outside Grimauld Place. Then, some exercises should do, yinno, sit ups, squats, dumbbell curls, etc, etc. Then Alastor will take over from me by starting to teach you spells, hexes, the lot of magic you'd need. Orion will only learn theory for now, since he doesn't have a wand. After lunch break, we'll continue the lessons by splitting you up in pairs and have you learn some martial arts moves from us. At this point Kingsley might join in. After that we'll review what you've learnt from us for the day. So let's start!" Remus had said. The students were initially quite excited, but after about an hour they had started to tire. IT didn't help that not all of them succeeded in doing everything the instructors told them to. They all have different levels of success depending on the exercise currently being performed. For runs, Orion easily out-ran any of them with his superior speed and nimble moves due to him still being young and lightweight. For dumbbell curls, he easily fell last, being the weakest among them in terms of physical strength. Harry and Ron did the pushups and sit ups easier than the others due to their slightly trained bodies after years of quidditch. Hermione was easily the best in the magic department. All of them also found different problems and advantages in martial arts training, with Orion being the most agile and nimble, Ron and Harry being the ones stronger than any other, Hermione being the most creative student and Ginny being the most determined. After the whole day of training, they were completely knackered and sore. Orion was glaring slightly at Remus and Moody after trying to catch his breath after the last exercise.

"Why do you have to train us so hard?" he had asked in a slightly tired voice.

Remus just grinned at him mischievously and replied, "Because you wanted us to. Now stop complaining and we will continue the training tomorrow." That made the students groan slightly but they nodded, knowing that they would need to train hard and endure if they ever want to be able to defend themselves.

-The same day, Headmaster's office...-

Dumbledore had decided not to wait any longer. His memories about the results of Harry's mind detection (blackish haze connected to silver through a greenish line) confused him to no end and worried him deeply. He did not know what all of it meant, particularly the blackish haze and the greenish line. He knew that the silvery thing he could see using the spell was Harry's mind, but as for the others... he only had theories. He needed another accomplished mental expert to help, so asked Severus to his office.

When the knock sounded at the door, Dumbledore welcomed his potions master in with a "Come in, dear Severus.". The figure came in, billowing robes, black clothing and all.

"You wished to see me, Headmaster."

"Ah of course Severus. I'm sorry for interrupting your summer holidays, but this might be an urgent matter..."

Snape just waved him off, and that made Dumbledore continue, somewhat hesitantly. "I have managed to take a scan of Harry's mind. You see, our Mr. Potter mentioned having visions and dreams of Voldemort, but he said that it seemed entirely too real. His vision about Frank Bryce and Bertha Jorkins being murdered came true, after all. He had a disturbing vision about Lucius Malfoy discussing with Voldemort to ruin Hogwarts from within, hide an attack on Azkaban, and some other disturbing scenes. He said that his scar was hurting during those visions, and naturally, being the curious busybody I am, I decided to cast a mental disturbance detection charm and a disturbance tracer. What I found was extremely confusing. I will show it to you using my pensieve, it'll be easier than if I just explained."

Snape just nodded slightly, before Dumbledore placed the memory in the pensieve. After Snape viewed it and came out of the memories, he just looked at Dumbledore almost emotionlessly.

"It is obvious to me that this means that Potter's mind is somehow connected to the mind of the dark lord, or someone close to him such as one of his death eaters. The greenish line that connects them might be the residue of the killing curse from the dark lord, further solidifying my point... The visions he had might be from the mind of the dark lord or someone else. For all we knew it could be truth, or it could be an entirely faked vision."

Dumbledore frowned. "I was afraid you'd say that. But what, pray tell, could forge a mental connection so strong?"

Snape's expression barely shifted as he contemplated the situation. He then replied, "Perhaps the failed killing curse has... far-reaching consequences save that scar. It must have forged the connection between the dark lord and Potter, no matter how unintentional."

That caused Dumbledore's frown to deepen considerably. "If they had a mental connection, I wonder if their souls might... Harry could speak parseltongue, that might indicate at least Voldemort's power being transferred into him slightly..."

That made Snape pale slightly, though to Dumbledore he might as well have lost all colour from his face seeing as his normally emotionless expression was now replaced with slight fear. After regaining his composure, Snape said, "Perhaps what you have been trying to hide from him should be told, now instead of later. Potter probably needs to know this before he does any idiotic mistakes. Then again, knowing that he has the power to vanquish the dark lord might make him more arrogant and egotistical..." the last part of Snape's statement was said with a sneer.

Dumbledore's head jerked upwards from itsprevious position, staring down at the table. "But Severus, surely the boy deserves a proper childhood! His childhood shouldn't end like this!"

A bitter smile crossed Severus' face before he spoke, "A better childhood? Surely he had a better one than mine, and you did not do anything for me at the time, did you? The boy even has people caring for him, even if the Dursleys are a load of muggle rubbish. They never abused the boy too badly! And yet you are caring for him, but what did you do to take care of me when I needed it as a child and a student?"

Dumbledore sighed at that. "I know that I have failed you, Severus. I did not stop the bullying I have seen inflicted on you, nor did I do anything about pressure heaped on you to join the death eaters. I even failed at saving Lilly... but surely even a person like you would realise that a child shouldn't participate in war and realise his role in it?"

Snape just sneered. "Were I the child in question, I would rather know about my big destiny from a man I trust rather than for it to be kept secret and blindside me later."

Dumbledore sighed, now looking every year of his age. "I suppose so. I wouldn't want anything happening to anyone close to Harry before he knows about this prophecy due to him being blindsided. I guess if I told him, he could make preparations to face whatever is to come, not that the first steps to learn defence from order members isn't a good one. But for me to do so... I would need your help, Severus."

Severus just stood, unmoving, waiting for Dumbledore to continue. "I'd like you to teach Harry occlumency. He needs to defend his mind from the dark lord if we don't want any secrets leaked to the death eaters. We would also not want the situation where Voldemort uses it to plant false visions and traps for Harry to happen..."

Snape scowled in slight annoyance, before nodding grudgingly. "I shall... do my best. I doubt he could learn, however. Being the egotistical brat that he is, he would probably decide to continue hating me and not listen to my instructions."

Dumbledore sighed. "Please, Severus, can't you see that Harry is his own individual? He is James' son, but he is also Lilly's, yet he has characteristics that none of them possessed in such amounts. Can you not forget your old feud with James Potter behind, and nurture and teach the boy as a human being should be taught?"

Snape just scowled. "I would try, but his arrogant, egotistical attitude certainly reminds me of my school days being bullied. He is too much like his father. I'll need something for proof that he is neither of his parents' copy."

"I'm sure Harry can prove it to you over time. Just don't be too confrontational. Make the hate between you go away, it'll make things smoother," Dumbledore said, to a sharp nod from Snape.

-Friday morning, July 14-

Everyone had stayed in the order headquarters the previous night, with Tonks the elder insisting that Orion stay with the other teens so they can get closer. They had breakfast this morning, and then continued training, but during lunch break, a grave Albus Dumbledore appeared at the doors of Grimauld Place before swiftly being invited in by Molly for lunch. Dumbledore gave a slightly forced smile and accepted the lunch tray placed in front of him on the table before starting the conversation.

"I'm sure all of you know that a vote of no confidence had been held against the minister yesterday. The Minister is now officially out of office and a new Minister will be elected soon, with the general public being able to nominate for the candidate of their choice for the next two weeks, and the election will be held on 27th this month. Unfortunately, I fear that an unsuitable minister might be elected, especially with the subtle influence of Voldemort."

The room fell deathly silent, the originally cheery mood of lunch turning serious. "Who?" was the one word question from Sirius. Dumbledore frowned.

"That's just it, Sirius. We don't know, but if my suspicions are anywhere close to correct, Lucius Malfoy or one of the other death eaters would be Minister... Harry's visions certainly seemed to indicate so, at least if the visions are accurate."

Harry stared at Dumbledore, annoyance slowly surfacing in his eyes. "And I suppose you mentioned about the visions because you've already told them?"

"I'm truly sorry, mboy, but I have to. My experience has shown me that hiding any information can lead to serious consequences. IF everyone knew about your visions, they might be able to research about it, trace its source and maybe even stop you from having them, seeing as they cause you not a slight amount of pain."

Harry started to calm down slightly after hearing Dumbledore out. The man does things logically at least - Harry had thought that Dumbledore was just trying to humiliate him or something.

"...All right, but what can we do about it?" Harry asked in a calmer voice.

"We can't do anything about the minister's election coming up, but there is something we can do about Voldemort and your visions. First though, I need to know whether any of you have heard of horcruxes?"

Everyone there gave him blank looks, save Sirius who paled significantly at the word.

"I've... seen that word somewhere... in one of the darker books in the Black family library. Isn't that something about someone storing part of his soul in an object to become immortal?"

"Precisely that. To make one, you have to murder someone else with the clear intent to kill him as a horcrux sacrifice. I only have theories so far but I think Voldemort has made more than one."

That made everyone pale. The fact that Voldemort has killed more than one person didn't surprise them, what did was that he was basically immortal, and that he used such a foul magic for his own gain.

"Professor. . . What's the difference between a horcrux and a phylactery? For that matter what's the difference between Voldemort and a lich?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Well Miss Granger, a horcrux contains just one part of a person's soul. The person still has a part of his soul, thus making them still alive in some sense. A phylactery, however, contains the whole soul of a lich. The lich is, in essence, dead, yet he can move and is conscious, hence its classification as an undead." Dumbledore replied.

"The diary..." Harry whispered in a sudden moment of understanding. "The one that possessed Ginny in my second year... Is that a horcrux, sir?"

"I believe so, yes. I knew that the magic in the destroyed diary you brought me is very dark - very powerful. I have suspected, but something that happened recently solidified my theory."

Orion and Hermione paled as they were the first to put two and two together. The younger child shuddered, before whispering hoarsely, "Harry's visions? Is he... is he one?"

Dumbledore frowned, and answered with a grim, "Maybe. He certainly has a connection to Voldemort's mind... or someone close to him. If the visions happen to be true, that solidifies my theory. I feel that it is more likely that he had a mental connection with Voldemort because of the backfired killing curse actually having time to touch Harry's forehead before it rebounds. I do not know if Harry is a horcrux, however. We will need to do research about this... and about how to destroy a living horcrux without killing the host."

Sirius and the other adults there paled at that. "Is there... already a way to destroy non-living horcruxes?"

"Well yes, Harry destroyed one, did he not? Using a basilisk fang, impregnated with basilisk venom? Fiendfyre is another way, but that's too deadly and difficult to control. The sting of a manticore might be able to, as might the dementor's kiss... As for a living horcrux, the only way that I know of is the killing curse, or physically killing the horcrux in question."

Sirius became frantic at that, and started shouting, "What! I am not gonna have Harry exposed to that thing again, not after what happened when it almost hit him when he was a baby and what happened in the graveyard!" His voice became pleading. "Please, Dumbledore, please aid me in finding another way... I know Harry might not be a horcrux but just in case he is... Please!"

Dumbledore nodded at Sirius, as did every other adult there. "I certainly wouldn't want Harry to be hit with a killing curse just to destroy the horcrux in him. It is too dangerous, since the curse might actually destroy Harry entirely, leaving nothing save his body behind. First though we need to verify whether he is a horcrux. I hope that everyone here could help with the research." The headmaster immediately raised his hands to placate Molly, who was about to interrupt.

"Mind you, the children will only do research, nothing else, so no danger is involved." Dumbledore continued. After a while, Molly finally nodded and gave her consent. Dumbledore then continued, looking directly at Harry. "Harry, from now on you will start learning occlumency from Professor Snape so that you can defend your mind from Voldemort. You wouldn't like him infiltrating your mind, implanting false visions or looking at your memories leisurely. I know you hate Professor Snape but please try and put your animosity for each other aside for now, as you need this skill more than ever."

Harry scowled at the mention of the hated potions master, but understood Dumbledore's point. "Fine. But if he couldn't put his animosity aside then I couldn't do anything about it. Don't even know why he hates me so much..." Harry said.

"There's a reason for that but I can't reveal it to you without betraying his confidence. Just try your best, will you not?"

Harry just nodded slightly. Dumbledore sighed and became, if possible, even grimmer and more hesitant. After a few moments and false starts, he spoke in a slightly wavering voice.

"I had not... wanted to burden you with this, Harry... but as Severus said, not revealing this might blindside you later. . . Do you know why Voldemort started hunting you ever since you were a baby?"

Harry frowned, now slightly curious. "I don't, sir. Why?"

Dumbledore sighed again, looking more ancient than he had before. "There is a prophecy made at about the time you were born. The prophecy might be talking about you, or Neville Longbottom. It was Voldemort who decided that the prophecy talked about you, and him."

"What is the prophecy?" Ron asked somewhat impatiently. Knowing that his friend had faced the dark lord so many times and survived had already made him hate Voldemort - if there's a prophecy about this, it might make him hate him more.

Before Dumbledore could continue, however, he was stopped by a pair of blue eyes belonging to Orion Tonks glaring at him. The normally expressive eyes turned black, and the normally childish and gentle gaze became unflinching and emotionless. The light behind the eyes dulled, making Orion seem as though he is in a trance. His whole body seemed rigid. After a few moments, his gaze was turned to Harry, and when he spoke, his voice was toneless and layered, seemingly with several others.

"The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the dark lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the dark lord knows not... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." as he finished speaking, his still-dull eyes gazed directly at Harry's scar. He then continued, now looking at the room in general.

"The vanquisher has a tiny portion of darkness, which is desperately clinging to his soul... Weakened as it is by the venom of the serpent king, yet still having a powerful grasp... The vanquisher shall need help to become pure again, and with the removal of the darkness, his full potential will slowly unveil from being blocked in his earlier life. . . ." Saying that, his eyes became clear once more. Orion blinked at everyone staring at him.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?" he asked, completely innocently. The adults looked at him exasperated. Sirius was the first to comment with a, "You said a lot of cryptic things there earlier, to all of us." when Orion just stared at him, Sirius frowned and continued with, "Don't you remember?"

They looked at Dumbledore for some sign that the wizard might understand the situation. He frowned slightly before saying, "Calm down, Sirius... I have seen this before. Orion just revealed the prophecy linking Harry and Voldemort. At least, the first part up to where either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... is the part of the prophecy I heard. The second part is honestly new to me too. If Orion is truly a seer as I suspect he might be, he wouldn't remember what he prophesised to us."

Orion blinked again, and looked at Dumbledore. "Did I say all that? I don't recall anything... Just that for a moment there I feel like I blanked out, then the next you were all staring at me."

"As I suspected then. All of you heard the prophecy, it's time to do research to understand this prophecy as well, alongside the research about horcruxes. Someone should also tell Orion about the prophecy, I think. HE would probably be able to help us interpret it as he was the one who prophesised it."

Everyone else there nodded, and continued their lunch in relative silence. After lunch, the students continued to train with Remus and Moody, while the adults moved to the Black family library, the students thinking to do the same sometime.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: sorry for the cliffhanger coming but… I just have to ask: where are the reviews? I am sorry if it seems as though my story is a long wall of text without paragraphs, as I couldn't edit it properly, or so it seems. I am also born blind (no joking), so I couldn't actually see if the story is in paragraphs or not. So please, read and review, I know I can improve further and type faster with your reviews and ideas. Not being a native English speaker also made reviews valuable as I can then realise what mistakes I made and hopefully not repeat them.

Well without further ado, let the story continue.

Chapter 7: confirmations and compulsions

-Saturday morning, July 15-

The teens had decided to go to the Black family library to start research on horcruxes today, seeing as their instructors gave them the weekends off from the training. They decided to put off the research on the prophecy Orion made, thinking that research on horcruxes is more important. After breakfast, they immediately went in, finding a majority of the order members already there. Hermione started sorting books around to find which book might hold the most helpful information about this most evil of rituals. A few of them seemed to have promise, so she took them down off the shelves and gave one to each of the others, taking one herself while the large pile of other books she took down were stashed on a table nearby.

A few hours later, as Harry was at page 42 of The Darkness of the Soul, he heard Hermione gulp in what seemed to be fear. He then looked over at her to see that she had paled and her hands were shaking.

"Guys... You need to see this..." Hermione said, drawing the attention of Ron, Ginny and Remus who were sitting close by. Orion had come over as soon as he saw Hermione paling, and they all looked at the page of the book Hermione indicated.

. . .

Many consider the killing curse, the cruciatus curse, or the vein exploding curse the darkest of dark arts, but very few of them had come close to the real darkest art: the creation of a horcrux. Creating a horcrux involves murder and other spells or rituals that are not well documented. The famous book, 'Secrets of the Darkest Art', written by Herpo the Foul might be the only book documenting such a ritual, yet its copies have been lost to time much like the Necronomicon (the book about phylactery creation) has. However, though the process of creating a horcrux is not well known, studies have shown its effects towards the creator and towards others possessing a horcrux. The creator of a horcrux gains a semblance of immortality by binding his or her soul to the world, thus making him able to return should the part of the soul bound towards his body dies. This, however, comes at a great cost: the creator's physical and emotional state deteriorate, making them shadows of their formal selves. Many horcrux makers become so dark that there is no way to make them even understand a semblance of remorse: they are pure evil, with not even an ounce of positivity. The horcrux contained within objects taint them and make them resemble animated constructs as they can occasionally move slightly, reply to questions, hypnotise people, or, as a last resort to further the horcrux's goal or the goal of its creator, possess an unsuspecting person. The portion of soul in the object might cause it to pulse occasionally, similar to a beating heart. Those having, or being possessed by, a horcrux becomes tainted, their emotional state being influenced to such a point that many negative emotions overwhelm the positive emotions felt. Even if the person did not possess the horcrux directly, anyone around the horcrux will also be affected badly. The same applies for living horcruxes: the taint makes them dark and emotionally negative. If a possessor of a horcrux, a living horcrux or a person around a horcrux was struggling to break free of the negativity, they shall feel a tugging on their soul as the horcrux attempts to regain control. During this phase, he who stares into the eyes of those struggling shall see their eyes glow red for a split second, or perhaps longer. Those that did not manage to fight the horcrux's influence will notice that they will blank out for hours, sometimes longer, seemingly not remembering what they were doing during those hours, how they came to be in certain situations or places, or do deeds they might not have realised at all. Those who saw a possessed person will notice abnormalities in the behaviour of the possession victim. They shall act as if they were in a trance, sometimes not even responding to questions or stimuli as the horcrux takes over completely. The abnormalities may be similar to the imperious curse, but possession is a much more difficult thing to resist. Should a person be possessed for long enough or was at close proximity with the horcrux for a long time, the negativity and magical drain caused by the horcrux might lead to the person's death, and the horcrux may manifest as a dark shade, similar to how the creator looks like when he created the horcrux.

. . .

"This... the diary matches a bit about the horcrux at least... I mean I did blank out when I was possessed because I couldn't fight the horcrux, and it did answer my questions when I wrote in the diary... and it manifested too..." Ginny said fearfully, shuddering slightly while remembering the horrible events during the school year of 1992.

"Harry has also became a bit snappish lately, I think. No offence, mate, but you were usually better at controlling emotions, at least during your first through fourth years... Not sure whether that has to do with a horcrux or not, though. For all we knew it could've been stress that's getting to you." Ron said softly.

"I noticed his eyes glowing red slightly when he was angry with us for not telling him earlier about the Order of the Phoenix too." Hermione said in barely a whisper. Orion looked up at that before nodding at Hermione and saying, "I noticed it too. I thought I was just imagining things though since it passed so fast. It was frightening though for the few seconds I saw..."

Harry was looking at them, dread filling him. Their theories about him having a horcrux seemed to be much more solid now that the symptoms seemed to be showing. Harry knew that what he wanted to say wouldn't ease their burden, in fact it might solidify the theory even further.

"I... When the Dursleys were angry at me earlier at Privet Drive, I noticed that their eyes glowed red and they looked like they were struggling with something. I felt a tugging of sorts too when that happened. Then one of the nights at Privet Drive I was meditating to calm myself after a nightmare when I felt this sort of negative energy around me, trying to overwhelm me..." he spoke. Remus looked over, a frown on his face.

"Why didn't you tell us? It might be something that would lead us closer on researching about this horcrux business!" he said with a scowl.

"How could I have known that it was important? I thought the negativity was just out of stress!" Harry almost shouted before calming himself slightly. He then noticed a pair of eyes gazing at him, particularly his scar. He looked up to see Orion, seemingly focused on something as his eyes glowed a slight white colour.

"I can see it. The darkness entered through the scar and now connects you to where it came from, supposedly the dark lord. It also saturates your soul, and I can definitely tell that the darkness isn't from stress either since I could feel that it's conscious somehow." Orion said contemplatively before his eyes stopped glowing. The others stared at him curiously.

"How could?" Remus asked, almost seeming dumbstruck. Orion just shrugged and shook his head in an "I don't know" gesture. He then tensed, and seemed to shudder where he sat. Harry frowned fearfully. Not knowing what happened, he attempted to get closer to his young friend, but got no response, even when he was practically lightly beating Orion on his shoulder. After a few moments though, he blinked before relaxing.

"I dunno what I saw but... I think we need to talk to goblins about this horcrux. In my vision, I saw what looked like Ron's elder brother talking to a goblin in Gringotts and Harry standing in the middle of a circle of symbols drawn in a room as we were chanting something alongside the other goblins. I then saw a sort of greenish black haze come out of Harry's scar." Orion said softly. Harry frowned at that.

"Bill... Ron, you said Bill was-"

"A curse breaker at Gringotts, yeah. If anything, I say that the elder brother Orion saw talking to the goblins must've been him." Ron cut across Harry.

"I will contact Bill to see what he can do for us, don't worry," Remus said, before standing and leaving the library to find the young order member.

OOO

Lucius sighed to himself. He couldn't let Fudge interfere with any of his plans, not that the X-Minister could do much in his current state of being unemployed and practically left with no influence. He had asked the dark lord for permission, of course, before proceeding with his plan. Today is the day that he put his ideas into action.

He knocked at the door of the Minister's house lightly and was promptly invited in. He just sneered, surprising Fudge slightly.

"What's with the sneer, Lucius?" Fudge asked.

"Well, I did mention that you don't need to worry about staying in office... You don't have any worries now, seeing as you are out of office and definitely won't stay." Lucius grinned almost cruelly. Fudge started to shiver at that look.

"W-Why are you h-h-here again, L-Lucius? S-Surely you d-d-didn't c-come to t-tell me a-about that s-since I al-al-already knew."

Lucius started cackling evilly, making Fudge practically wet himself.

"Of course not... I am just here to tell you that... you have outlived your usefulness to me and our master." Lucius said coldly.

"You... what... Y-You were the dark lord's faithful all along? I-I-What-How could-" Fudge was silenced by Lucius who waved his wand at him.

"Ah-Ah, now, Cornelius... That's a serious accusation! Not! I am not the innocent-imperiused-servant guy I made you believe me to be, Cornelius. All those money and help? Merely to further my own goals, and now, my lord's goals." Lucius grinned in pleasure at Fudge's quivering form.

"Now then. To prevent you from going and blabbing all this out... Incarcerus! Obliviate!" Lucius casted in two, lightning-quick motions of his wand. The minister was tied up, and now looked vaguely dazed as memories were wiped out. Lucius just smirked, stunned the minister, and dragged him by magic so he was tightly against himself, and apparated away with a crack. He then unceremoniously dumped Fudge into the holding cell at the dungeon of Malfoy Manor. The Minister managed to break free of the silencing and stunning spells, though, and his screams, unfortunately, drew the attention of his son. It did not draw the attention of Narcissa because she was away, shopping.

"Father, what are you and the Minister doing here?" Draco asked curiously and somewhat fearfully.

"Do not be a busybody, Draco. What both of us are doing here is none of your business. Silencio! Shut up, Minister!" Lucius said cruelly. Draco looked at his father, stunned that he would level his wand against a Minister, even if Fudge was no longer one. After all, Fudge had helped Draco's father before, right?

"Now then, Draco," his father's voice interrupted Draco's thoughts.

"Next year, when you return to Hogwarts, I want you to spy on Potter and try to convince your... friends to join our master. You will report directly to me, every weekend."

Draco started to object, but the command started to echo strangely in his mind as a feeling of bliss came over him. "Spy on Potter. Spy on Potter. Spy on Potter. . . . Convince others to join our master. Convince others to join our master. . . . Report to me every weekend. Report to me every weekend. . ."

Draco struggled with himself. The feeling of bliss was so total and absolute, he felt like obeying his father. Yet, his thoughts of not wanting to become a murderer struck him over and over, causing his more rassional side (ignore the command and join Potter), and his obedient side (follow the command and be rewarded), to war with each other. His rassional side won out though, but barely.

"I won't!" Draco shouted, anger clear in his voice. That his father had tried to use a compulsion on him was clear now, what bothered Draco massively was that it was somewhat working. Draco growled, clenched his jaw, and managed to throw off the compulsion charm. He barely managed to do that before his father's first hex flew through the air, almost striking him if not for a livid Narcissa to suddenly appear and block the curse with a shield.

"Attacking our son, Lucius? What has gotten into you, and why is Fudge chained like this?" Narcissa shouted in fury. Lucius responded in the same, furious tone.

"He does not want to obey my command to persuade others to join the dark lord and to spy on Potter. As to the minister, it is none of your concern!"

Narcissa glared at her husband, that's when the compulsion struck, and struck hard.

"Obey me. Obey me. Obey me. . . . Persuade people to join us. Persuade them. . . ."

Narcissa clenched her jaw and tried hard to fight the compulsion. She saw, out of the corner of her eye, that Draco had fired a hex at his father, which Lucius blocked expertly. However, that made their eye contact waver and made Lucius' compulsion on them ineffective.

"Mother!" Draco shouted worriedly as a difindo from his father struck flesh and opened a wound on his mother's waist. He barely managed to register what happened though, before she suddenly pulled him along, closer to her, and started running up the stairs, adrenalin and fear making both Narcissa and Draco feel as though they could run forever. Draco though saw his father rush forward to charge them, so he decided to fire hexes and defensive shields behind them to cover their backs as Narcissa promptly decided the same.

"Stupefy!"

"Protego!"

"Sectumsempra!"

"protego horribilis!"

An avada kedavra almost struck them, but Draco and Narcissa had put on a burst of speed to get out of the wards in time, and Narcissa promptly side-along-apparated Draco away with a loud crack. The only sign that Narcissa was there at all was a broken pinkie finger on the ground, and a pool of blood. Lucius let off a scream of complete rage as he disapparated from the manor in search of both his traitorous son and wife.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: turnarounds and unexpected events

Narcissa staggered as soon as they landed after apparating away from the manor. That didn't scare Draco that much – his mother might just be tired from casting so many spells... but the blood that had started pooling on the ground horrified him. He had never really seen blood before, so seeing so much blood (from his mum, no less) panicked him to no end.

"Mother! Are you alright? Where does it hurt? What's wrong?" Draco asked frantically. Narcissa answered shakily, "Just splinched myself, Draco. My right pinky finger got left behind." She gasped as a wave of pain from her wounds assaulted her.

"I'll get you to St. Mungo's-" Draco said but he was abruptly cut off.

"No... Get to... the Tonks' house... Lucius would know where we are if we went to St. Mungo's. HE would expect no less seeing as I am wounded... he won't expect... that I'd go to... my sister's." Narcissa managed. She passed out after giving the address and directions to the Tonks' house to Draco. That, of course, made Draco even more fearful than he already was, and that's when his magic decided to take over, and Draco found himself right in front of his destination.

"Aunt Andromeda! Aunt Andromeda! Please, help!" Draco shouted frantically as he knocked on the door with all he had. A few moments passed before Draco heard footsteps coming closer from inside the house. The door opened to show his aunt, who looked remarkably like Aunt Bellatrix (at least, according to his mother) only with gentler features. As she looked out from the door, Andromeda gasped at the condition of her sister, being lightly carried by Draco. She immediately hurried them into the house, and started casting healing spells.

"Ted, get Dora, and other healers if you can without causing any chaos. Don't tell them who is injured, though, I think something else is wrong here other than the physical injuries." Andromeda said in a sharp voice to her husband, who promptly went to the fireplace to firecall their daughter, and St. Mungo's.

OOO

Andromeda frowned. Draco's story about how they were injured was almost unbelievable. It would have been, if she didn't know Lucius. That man would do anything to achieve his goals, be it bribing people... or placing compulsions on them. For once, she pitied her sister for marrying Lucius. She had thought that Narcissa hated her for marrying a muggleborn, but now... now what? Did Narcissa actually hate her, or did she just appear to hate her because of the compulsion on her? Is Narcissa even a death eater in the first place? Pulling back her sleeves revealed no dark mark, but they would never really know... Did Narcissa and Draco purposefully insult Ted the last time, or was that just a reaction due to them being under compulsion? Dora had, of course, contacted Dumbledore to ask whether a Wizengamot meeting or questioning session can be held for Cissy and Draco without Lucius present, and Dumbledore had said that it could not be done, unless Lucius himself decided not to be present - which is very highly unlikely. He had consented, however, to question both Malfoys privately under Veritaserum to get to the truth. Draco agreed, and Narcissa did likewise a few hours later, after being healed and having come back to consciousness. Even remembering what Draco said to Ted when he was still young ("I despise having a mudblood uncle,"), Andromeda simply had no heart to hate him, or her sister for that matter.

-Friday morning, July 28-

New Minister of Magic elected!

By Adam Tristan

The results of the New Minister election held on the 27th of July 1995, following the vote of no confidence against Cornelius Fudge, is now out. The results are as follows: Lucius Malfoy, 75%. Amelia Bones, 23%. Dolores Jane Umbridge, 2%. Minister Malfoy gave a speech following the results announcements last night, stating, "I am, of course, very surprised and thankful for your confidence in me. I shall not let you down and will endeavour to be the best Minister of Magic that I can be."

When asked about the Minister's stance on You-Know-Who, Minister Malfoy replied, "The Ministry shall start preparing to face You-Know-Who and his followers. Ward masters shall also be trained, so the public has nothing to fear. Homes will be warded to the best of their abilities, and their services come at a reasonable price, so even poor witches and wizards will get protection if they are willing to pay."

Rumour has it that the Minister will provide more costs to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to increase their efficiency - from his own account. Madam Amelia Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, says that her department will work hard to recruit and train aurors to face the challenges ahead. (For more details, see pg6)

-The Tonks' House-

Narcissa and Draco were furious. How could Lucius become the Minister of Magic after all this? The fact that they were under compulsions (from their own family!) had completely been put aside. Their escape was not in the Daily Prophet (and they didn't really mind that - the public doesn't have the need to know that the Malfoy family had problems with their own), but the fact that Lucius still managed to become Minister of Magic after everything was just mind boggling, enraging, infuriating. Dumbledore's words of, "We can't do anything about it," didn't help matters at all. Narcissa knew, of course, that Lucius was influential, but instead of liking that fact like before (since they could literally do anything without much repercussions back then), she hated it now. Her wand warmed slightly, alerting her that an Order Meeting will be held soon, so she went to get Draco, and side-along-apparated him to Grimauld Place so he could spend time with the other kids there. 'I just hope that Potter and the others can forgive Draco for his obnoxious behaviour before the compulsion was removed...'

-#12, Grimauld Place-

The order members were grave. They had expected that Madam Bones might be Minister of Magic - her election campaign seemed good enough - but the Daily Prophet proved otherwise. Malfoy being Minister had made things much more difficult than they were supposed to be. Literally none of them (even the newest order member - Narcissa Malfoy) believed Lucius' claims of preparing for the dark times ahead. After all, upon questioning Narcissa under Veritaserum, his status as a death eater was revealed. It was also revealed that Lucius was never under the Imperious curse. So why would Lucius claim that they are preparing for the dark times if he was a death eater through and through, unless it was a direct order from the dark lord? Upon further investigations, it was noted that the compulsion on Narcissa was there since October 31, 1981 and the one on Draco was placed since he was 4. Narcissa had tried to reveal everything about death eaters that she knew about to Dumbledore back then, after Voldemort's temporary death, but Lucius got to her sooner and managed to stop her with the compulsion.

-Meanwhile, with the other teens-

They sat in awkward silence at the dining table, not knowing what to say to each other. The animosity between Draco, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione made them uncertain. They knew, of course, that Draco was under a compulsion charm the whole time, but that didn't make it easier for them to forgive him for what he've done. Draco was also feeling regret for being obnoxious earlier, almost causing Buckbeak's death, and other things that was simply too awful to think about. Even Orion was silent - he had remembered Cousin Draco, of course, and didn't particularly like him since he had called his father a mudblood when they were still young.

It was Draco who broke the silence, but not with words. A sob escaped before he could stop it, causing the others to stare at him in surprise. After a few moments, Draco managed to control himself, and said shakily, "Weasley... Ron, Ginny, I am really sorry for insulting your family during my first through fourth year. I realise that my remarks probably hurt more than I could understand... but I know now that your family is actually... much better than my own... at least... better than my father ever was. And Granger... I am sorry for ever calling you a mudblood and insulting you so badly. Potter... My insults on you probably hurt the most... I should've known better than you actually putting your name in the Goblet of Fire last year. And Tonks... I am sorry... and tell your father that I truly regret calling him a mudblood..."

The others just continued staring, making Draco uneasy. Finally, though, Harry extended his hand out to Draco for a shake. "I am sorry too, if I ever hurt you in any way during our school years. And... I accept your apology."

Hermione continued with, "I know that you didn't really mean to insult me in our second year, so I accept your apology too. And I'm sorry for... for slapping you in our third year." Her hand was also accepted, though with a little bit more hesitancy. The apologies continued then, with Orion, Ginny and finally Ron forgiving Draco and asking for apologies from him. All six of them then placed their hands atop each other's, and a bond of friendship was formed.

"So," Orion started, trying to lighten the mood. "You slapped Draco, Hermione?" he asked, a smirk on his face. Hermione just looked at him in surprise, before realising what she had said earlier when she asked Draco for forgiveness due to slapping him. Blushing, she told the young boy about what happened back then, and when she finished, Orion was actually gaping slightly.

"Never knew you were so brave," he chuckled. Hermione blushed again, but before anything else happened, owls flew in from the partially open window, landing on the dining table in front of them. The 3 owls were carrying two letters each - letters with a familiar seal on the envelopes. Ron, Harry and Hermione immediately untied the letters and gave them to the intended recipients. The owl carrying Ron's letter also carried Ginny's, the one carrying Hermione's letter had a letter to Draco, and the one carrying Harry's letter also carried a letter for Orion. The owls immediately flew out of the windows after being relieved of their burdens. They opened the letter and read together, 5 of them knowing what the letter was going to say (the reminder to get to platform 9 and 3 quarters on September 1st and the book list), but one of them did not, this being the first time he received a letter with a wax seal depicting a lion, badger, eagle and snake, with a H around it.

. . .

Dear Mr. Tonks,

We are delighted to tell you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is your train ticket for the Hogwarts Express, departing from Platform 9 and 3 quarters at Kings Cross station on September 1st at 11:00 AM. You will also find a list of materials and books required in the envelope. We hope to see you at Hogwarts.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress,

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Orion looked at the letter for a long time, before dropping it on the dining table and jumping up, joy clearly written on his face as he happily shouted, "I got my Hogwarts letter!"

The others there just smiled, clearly enjoying the happy look on their friend's face. Hermione smiled at Orion, then said, "Calm down. I know you are excited, but you shouldn't forget that we need to get our supplies at Diagon Alley."

Orion just nodded at her, still jumping around, though in a calmer manner than before. Draco grinned. "Good memories. Well, I guess we'll have to wait until the adults finish their business." The others agreed, but just as they decided to sit down and wait, the closed doors of the meeting room opened.

"So, I wager that you got your Hogwarts letters, then?" Sirius said, a mischievous grin on his face. "How did-" Harry was about to ask, but Sirius cut him off.

"Now now, Harry, I got my Hogwarts letter at about the same day last time, too. Orion's shout was heard even though the doors were charmed, you know. That gave it away mostly." That made Orion blush slightly, causing Sirius, Remus and the others there to laugh.

"To Diagon Alley it is." Molly said with a smile. The corners of Moody's lips twitched, then he said, "Aye. But ye lot would have more people escortin' ya round tah buy yer stuff. Jus' as a precaution, course."

Molly sighed, slightly exasperated. "Oh come on, Alastor, it's not like anything bad could happen much. Be a little more optimistic, won't you?"

Moody just grumbled, "Ye never know. Better safe than sorry, I say."

Molly just nodded, still exasperated. She couldn't disagree with Moody's cautious behaviour. After all, even the Great Alastor Moody had been attacked despite him being careful all the time.

OOO

They flooed to Diagon Alley (thankfully no one was lost at Nockturn Alley this time) before they separated to buy the needed things, with Ron and Ginny going with Molly, Fred and George with Arthur, Harry and Orion with Remus, Draco with his mother, and Hermione with Kingsley. The other aurors and order members that had come along had decided to patrol the alley (just for safety's sake) Moody in the lead.

Harry, Orion and Remus decided to go to Gringotts first thing, despite the fact that Remus had enough to pay for all of their things. "We can't just use your money to pay for our stuff, Remus," was Harry's insistent comment. Orion was silent, but judging by the nod, he was agreeing with his older friend.

And so they entered, but before they can go far, a goblin rushed up to them. He bowed, before speaking, his eyes directed at Harry.

"Mr. Potter. Our lead healer and curse breaker wishes to see you. In the meantime, your companions can help you conduct your business here."

Harry looked at the goblin curiously. He didn't ask any questions though - he knew that the lead goblin healer and curse breaker had a reason to meet him. He just thanked the goblin, and followed him... somewhere... leaving Remus and Orion behind.

OOO

After a few minutes of walking, Harry and his goblin companion reached a door, covered in strange symbols and pulsing with an unfamiliar kind of magic, at least, unfamiliar to Harry. The goblin raised his hand, his fingers pointing at one of the symbols, and the door silently opened.

"I shall leave you here. Our lead healer and curse breaker are inside, waiting for you. After they finish with their business, they shall lead you to your friends." The goblin said, before turning to leave.

"I don't know your name, but thanks, sir," Harry said and bowed slightly to the goblin, who looked... genuinely surprised? For some reason.

"You are welcome, Mr. Potter. And my name is Sharpclaw." He replied, before leaving him behind. Harry entered the door hesitantly, noticing that even the walls were covered in symbols. Runes, perhaps? The doors closed behind him, and glowed blue for a split second. Harry looked around the room, noticing the two goblins, gesturing him to sit next to them.

"Mr. Potter." One of them said softly, almost politely.

"Uhm, good morning, sirs," Harry answered, causing both of them to stare at him in surprise. 'Why are they staring at me like that?' Harry thought, but didn't ask.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Healer Lightcurer, and this is Curse Breaker Darkbane." The goblin wearing white robes and a crystal pendant around his neck, spoke. Before Harry could reply, the other goblin, wearing sapphire blue robes, continued.

"Curse Breaker Weasley seems to believe that you have a horcrux in you. We are here to see if it is true."

Harry just nodded, knowing that Bill had talked to the goblins about two weeks ago. He was still a little bit surprised that the goblins had agreed to investigate Bill's claims, but he was thankful nonetheless.

"Thanks... but what do I do?"

"You just sit there," Lightcurer said, "and we will do the rest."

Harry nodded. Lightcurer raised his hand, pointing a finger at Harry's forehead, then chanted in a language Harry did not recognise. The tingling sensation of diagnostic spells working spread through his whole body, starting from his forehead then branching out. The goblin's finger still pointed at Harry, even after he finished chanting, and his face still had a frown of concentration on it. After a while, the hand lowered, and the concentrated look changed into a contemplative one.

"Moderate mental damage. Malnutrition, but that hardly seems to be an effect of the horcrux. Physical injuries such as light bruising, but no broken bones. Again, that is hardly an effect from a horcrux. Mental connections between him and something else that I cannot accurately pinpoint, which is likely caused by the horcrux. Negative energies in his aura. Parasitic energies on his soul." The goblin said. Darkbane nodded contemplatively. Before he could raise his hand to start his own casting, Harry's scar exploded with pain. His world blurred, his vision going in and out of focus.

"Diagon Alley will-"

"-connection getting stronger-"

"-thoughts of Vold-"

"-yes, my lord-"

"-clear to me now that-"

"-crucio-"

"-preparation to destroy-"

Harry's vision abruptly refocused on the present when he felt Darkbane lightly but firmly squeeze his hand.

"Sorry, sir, I just-" Harry said but was cut off.

"We know, Mr. Potter. If you would let us finish to make sure?" Darkbane asked. Harry just nodded, though a sense of foreboding crept in. Did he just see Voldemort wanting to attack Diagon Alley? He decided to share the vision later with the others, as confusing as it might be.

Darkbane raised his hand, placing it on Harry's scar while chanting in the same, unfamiliar language Lightcurer used earlier. Harry winced as he felt something tugging hard at his scar and soul, and bit back a scream when pain assaulted him suddenly. The pain stopped just as abruptly as it came, but the tugging continued, until Darkbane stopped chanting and lowered his hand.

"Horcrux, indeed." He said, before looking directly at Harry. "An appointment with you will be made. We will start destroying the horcrux in you on December 28th this year. Arrive at the bank at 9 AM sharp that day." Darkbane said, before guiding Harry out the door, and back to Remus and Orion. Before leaving, Darkbane said, "I will tell Curse Breaker Weasley about this and your appointment, Mr. Potter. Do not forget."

As he disappeared around the corner, Remus asked, "What's all that about, Harry?" while handing him a sack of galleons.

"They are just checking if I had the... well you know..." Harry replied.

"I see. SO when's your next appointment with them?" he asked softly.

"December 28th at 9 AM sharp. And yes, I do have a horcrux in me." Harry said softly. Remus just nodded.

After a moment of silence, Remus spoke. "Well now, let's get Mr. Tonks here a wand."

Both Harry and Orion nodded, the latter looking excited. They moved towards Ollivander's, Remus having to ask Orion to slow down as the young boy was running towards his destination. Harry sighed silently. 'Maybe I'll tell them about my vision later. I don't want to let Orion's happiness be dampened like this. For all I know Voldemort's attack on Diagon Alley isn't happening today…'

OOO

A few hours later, they were at Flourish and Blots (their last stop for the day), buying new books for the school year. That proved to be slightly more difficult than Harry and Remus expected, seeing as Orion's eyes kept flicking towards other book titles with interest, unable to focus on what he needed to buy. Remus just sighed, and managed to snatch the supply list from Orion's hand before he went too far away, and he quickly gathered Orion's books while Harry gathered his.

As they were about to leave the book store after paying, however, Orion walked up to them, looking tensed.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked, seeing Orion's expression turn fearful.

"Death ea-" Orion didn't manage to finish the sentence, as curses suddenly started flying in all directions, the concussive sounds of spells firing drowning out his voice.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: attack of Diagon Alley

"Flee, the both of you, especially Orion - you only learnt theory, after all!" Remus shouted before swiftly casting a stunner behind him, towards where one of the death eaters was.

"But I can help, Remus! I fought Voldemort before!" Harry said, then quickly blocked a purple-coloured hex with a protego, before sending an expelliarmus back towards the ranks of attackers.

"I need you to protect Orion, SO you have to flee with him!" Remus managed to growl out before having to parry a difindo and block a shocking hex. Orion did not answer Remus verbally, instead he just drew his wand (11 inches of ash and phoenix feather), pointed it at the closest death eater, and incanted, "stupefy!" The death eater dropped, causing Remus to whip his head around to look at the younger boy. Remus glared slightly at the boy who wasn't even a first year yet, but Orion did not cower - instead he just continued casting, whispering the incantations in rapid succession.

Finally, Remus decided to give a different order to his younger charges that would still put them in action but will be safer than open combat.

"Listen to me," Remus said forcefully, drawing Harry's and Orion's attention to him. "I hope you would just flee, but if you decide not to, I can't do anything about it, but I could only recommend that you use your skills for something else, like healing and evacuating. We've taught you how to do both, so go on, now. At least you'll be safer. Harry will provide cover fire while Orion heal and evacuate." The two teens looked at each other, then looked at Remus and gave quick nods before leaving his side, doing what they were ordered to. As they were about to bring a few of the patrons out the front door, however, it exploded, sending wood splinters flying everywhere. Orion managed to put up a shield charm between the patrons, but it failed after a few pieces of wood struck it, causing the rest to strike him. Harry looked up, and saw, to his dismay, that more death eaters were coming in.

"Where to evacuate them to, Remus?" Harry shouted in worry as he quickly deflected a stinging hex towards the ceiling.

"See if the floo's active! If it is, floo them to Hogwarts! Its temporarily connected to the network!" Remus quickly shouted back, before sending a chair flying and slamming into one of the death eaters.

Harry nodded, then levitated a few wood pieces into the fireplace, casted an incendio and then another spell to levitate some of the greenish grey powder into the fireplace. The fire turned green, and Harry sighed in slight relief. He quickly worked together with Orion to levitate the injured wizard in front of him towards the fireplace. Seeing as the wizard could not speak at the moment, Harry quickly used a ventriloquist charm and made the wizard say, "Hogwarts!", and the man vanished in a flash of green flame, towards one of the safest places in the wizarding world.

-Meanwhile, with Kingsley and Hermione-

"Stupefy!"

"Protego!"

"Petrificus totalus!"

The situation near Madam Malkin's was chaotic, to say the least. Many Hogwarts students were still in the shop when the duals started, and most were panicking while only a handful (like Hermione) knew what to do.

"Hermione, start evacuating the shop. Let the aurors deal with the death eaters. I'll provide cover for you," Kingsley said, then swiftly casted a reductor which missed Antonin Dolohov by mere inches. Hermione immediately obeyed, and started casting calming spells while leading the patrons out of the store via the floo network towards Hogwarts (luckily the fireplace was still operating fine - Hermione knew to send the people to Hogwarts as she had asked Dumbledore where to send people to if emergencies occurred). Not everything was well, however.

"That mudblood!" one of the death eaters screeched in anger, launching herself towards Hermione and grabbing her by the shoulder, hard. Hermione screamed in surprise and pain, but the other patrons she was leading didn't help her, frozen in place by fear. Kingsley could not shake his attackers off, so he did not turn to aid the younger witch who is also his student. Hermione struggled, and managed to kick the death eater on the ankles to try and dislodge her, but her efforts proved to be in vein - the death eater was simply too strong. As Hermione continued to struggle a stunner struck the death eater holding her, causing her to release Hermione who dropped on the ground. Hermione quickly stood, then stared in surprise as the caster of the stunning hex proved to be none other than Blaise Zabini. He did not speak, however, and continued to drop death eaters in a sneaky fashion alongside his companion, Theodore Nott.

-With Molly, Ron and Ginny-

They were trying to find an owl for Ginny at the magical menagerie when spells started flying. Unfortunately for them, the shop was remarkably difficult to protect - with flying curses sometimes ricocheting to hit the animals there.

"Ginny, ron-stupefy-you both better flee-confundo-now!" Molly shouted while casting rapidly.

"Mum, we can help! We've been learning-" Ron was cut off by his mother's sharp remark. "Children aren't supposed to fight in wars, and that applies especially to my children!"

"What if we promise not to engage in duals with the death eaters? We will just protect the animals, bring them to the back room where it's safer?" Ginny said while deflecting a freezing hex. Molly looked at them in annoyance, but as 3 or so stunners ricocheted and struck an owl and two toads, she finally agreed. After all, even animals are life forms, and they need protection since they can't protect themselves while caged.

"Fine. But promise you'll be safe and don't dual anyone unless necessary!" Molly shouted, then quickly casted an electric blast which downed Walden McNair.

"Promise!" Both of her children shouted, before swiftly getting to work, levitating stacks of cages with their wand and moving them towards the back, some of the other patrons and shop workers doing the same. It was tricky, however, as spells continued to fly towards them. Ron frowned, but before he could ask Ginny to take over the cages while he provided cover, an auror leapt towards them.

"Go! I'll cover you!" he said, then swiftly casting an expulso towards one of the empty tables, exploding it and providing enough distraction for Ron, Ginny and the other workers to get through.

-With Arthur and the twins-

Arthur couldn't stop the twins who were dead set on going into the joke shop despite the fact that Molly would hex them to next week if she saw what they were buying: wetstart fireworks, trans-candies, pink dye bombs, and more. The blast of the first hex in the shop, however, was enough to make the twins startle and immediately turn serious. Looking around, Fred and George started casting in complete sync with each other - with Fred stunning a death eater at the same time George stunned another and Fred downing one with a shocking hex while George downing another with a conjunctivitis hex simultaneously. Arthur frowned. 'Too many children here!' he thought to himself.

"Fred, George! You will evacuate the patrons here together with me! Protect the younger kids while you're at it!" he shouted, deflecting a tongue-tying hex while casting his own slashing hex which barely nicked the cheek of Graham Nott.

The twins nodded, quickly dashing to their father's side, then moving together with him to help the patrons to escape.

"Floo them to Hogwarts!" Arthur said quickly. The twins just nodded, barely stopping to ask why. The younger children there were partnered with one adult patron each as they flooed together, the adults making sure that the children were safely at the school.

-With Draco and Narcissa-

They were just walking around in the streets of Diagon Alley towards the stationary shop when spells started flying. Draco tensed and drew his wand, preparing for combat.

"Draco, we should flee from here! If they were truly followers of the dark lord, they won't forgive us for suddenly turning against him! I don't know if they are aware of the compulsion on us or not, but they won't forgive, it's as simple as that!" Narcissa shouted, deflecting a spectral hand that tried to restrain her.

"But mother, we need to help out! There are so many innocents - we just can't leave them here!" Draco shouted back. HE staggered as a mild shocking hex struck, but quickly recovered and continued casting.

"No time!" Narcissa said. "Even the other shops were being attacked, there's nowhere to evacuate them and ourselves to!"

Draco growled, but before he could reply a jet of red light shot from behind him, flying over his head, and striking down John Gibbin. He looked up.

"Lad, quickly, evacuate em to Hogwarts. Use the floo network in that shop there!" Mad-eye Moody said while pointing towards the stationary shop, before casting a disintegrator at a large chunk of stone which was but mere inches from striking Narcissa. The woman looked up, and gave a nod of thanks, but Moody quickly urged them onwards with a "go now!"

Draco and Narcissa nodded, then moved side-by-side, helping those they can and getting them out of spell fire, towards the fireplace in the stationary, and to Hogwarts. A patron (who initially looked weak and helpless) suddenly turned around and grabbed Draco, cackling evilly and drawing out his wand.

"Well well well, young Malfoy… I didn't think you would stoop so low as to help evacuate people and preventing death eaters from having our fun… I thought you are with us..."

The man didn't manage to do anything else before he was blasted away with a nonverbal everte statem from Narcissa. "Never-touch-my-son-again!" Narcissa shrieked, rage clear in her voice.

-About 15 minutes later-

The aurors and order members were quite dismayed when a multitude of cracks reverberated around Diagon Alley. Thinking that they were just apparating cracks of death eater reinforcements, they were surprised when they saw more aurors and DMLE workers when they looked up. Not long after their arrival, a loud voice echoed around the alley, saying, "my fellows! Retreat!"

This time, the aurors were relieved when disapparation cracks sounded, signaling that the death eaters had departed and the chaos had finally calmed.

Remus, Kingsley, Molly, Arthur, Narcissa, Harry, Orion, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Draco, Fred and George suddenly ran out of different shops and places towards the middle of the alley.

"Yall alright there?" Moody asked, his magical eye still spinning around, trying to detect if any threats were around. All of them gave affirmative nods, but even then, it was obvious that most of them were quite a bit worse for wear.

Remus had a small wound on his cheek, Kingsley had a bloody gash on his side, Molly and Arthur's robes were torn beyond repair, Narcissa had a tiny slash mark at the back of her neck, Harry had a small wound on his arm which was bleeding slightly, Orion had various scrapes and bruises from being hit by debris, Hermione had bruises on her shoulders where the death eater held her, Ron had a bruise on his forehead (likely due to bumping his head on one of the cages as he was ducking a hex), Ginny had a burn mark on her back, Draco was by far the least injured with a bit of his hair being charred, Fred and George spotted identical scars on their cheek (Fred's is on his left cheek while George's is on his right), and all of them were dirty from the chaos. The others fared about the same as well, with Moody having a new scar on his arm. Orion staggered, and would've fallen over if not for Remus' quick action in grabbing him.

"Magic fatigue, I think. He's unconscious. A first year isn't supposed to use that much magic at any one time, let alone someone who isn't even first year yet." Remus said softly after gazing at the boy in his arms, who was seemingly sleeping peacefully. "I'm bringing him back to hq for a rest."

The others nodded in agreement, and everyone there started disapparating home, or to wherever they were supposed to be.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: aftermath: protective magic

-Saturday morning, July 29-

Aurors save Diagon Alley!

By Jason Milton

On the afternoon of July 27th, death eaters suddenly appeared in Diagon Alley, damaging shops and injuring many civilians. Fortunately, none were killed and many only sustained minor injuries as they were evacuated in time by the brave actions of many, including retired auror Alastor Moody, ministry worker Arthur Weasley and his wife Molly, famous auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, and others. Witnesses report that some of the people helping to evacuate shops seem to be underage witches and wizards, Hogwarts students, who were determined to do their best even though the battle was frightening.

"I saw a few Weasley kids helping in the joke shop and the menagerie. I was personally in the menagerie at the time, and was helped by two of them." Said Jerald Gruston, one of the witnesses interviewed by the Daily Prophet.

Fortunately, a group of aurors arrived not long after the chaos started, and a few minutes after that, the death eaters fled from the alley, their attack thwarted. Minister Malfoy had this to say: "We have received an anonymous tip that an attack might be planned on the alley, so I had Madam Bones place a few aurors to guard the alley. When the attacks started, an alarm was triggered by the auror guards signaling the rest of the aurors to come and help in dealing with it."

When asked about future plans for the aurors, Minister Malfoy states that he would have aurors discretely guarding several places such as Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. The Minister also decided to pardon the underage witches and wizards who helped in the defense of civilians, claiming that though they had broken the law for underage magic use outside of school, they had done it solely to help others. It is clear that we had made the right choice in electing Minister Malfoy as the Minister of Magic. What else would need to be reported to show the public that the Minister and the ministry were working hard to end the war before it escalates? If Minister Malfoy had done so much in just one day after his election, how much more could he do for the general public?

OOO

"Received an anonymous tip about the attack? Auror guards on the alley? Working hard to end the war before it escalates? Doing a lot of things to protect the general public? What rubbish is all this! If there were auror guards how comes we only saw the aurors start fighting back only after a few minutes of battle? Why didn't the guards fight? Heck, why did Lucius do this?" Narcissa raged after reading the prophet. An incendio later, and the prophet was turned to ash.

"Wo, calm down there Cissy. I'm angry too but there's nothing we could do about this, save trying to figure out Lucius' motives for doing this," Andromeda tried to placate her sister. "I had not gone through what you had, so I might not completely understand your situation, but I can sympathise."

Narcissa took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, then sighed. Before she could say anything, the order meeting alert caused her wand to heat up slightly. Since Draco was already at Grimauld Place, she just apparated alone, with Andromeda following suit.

-Somewhere else…-

"You have done well, my servant. The confidence of the general public towards the ministry is increasing. They'll soon let their guard down, thinking that the ministry would do everything to protect them and that they have nothing to worry about. Continue doing your best as the good and dedicated Minister for now."

"Of course, my lord. I thank you again for lending me some of your followers for this endeavour. Without your help and the help of those death eaters who attacked the alley, the public's confidence on the ministry wouldn't have been so high."

"I take it that no lethal spells were cast, Lucius?"

"Indeed my lord. The death eaters have done as you ordered, creating chaos while making sure to not seriously injure or kill anyone."

"Good, good. IS there any other news you wish to report?"

"Yes, my lord, though it is not actually my news. Our… spy… had discovered something that may help you in obtaining the secret." Lucius said, a grin on his face. He signaled someone to come forward with his hand, but it seemed as though he was doing it into thin air. Soon enough, a beetle scuttled across the ground, towards Voldemort, before swiftly transforming.

"Ah… My spy…" Voldemort hissed, causing the woman (who the beetle transformed into) to shiver in fear.

"M..My lord.." the woman said, her voice shaky, as she bowed and kissed the hem of the dark lord's robes.

"What news do you have?" he asked, almost in anticipation.

"I..I managed to sneak into the order headquarters..I was waiting outside of where it is supposed to be when Sirius Black walked towards it so I decided to perch myself on his back before he entered. The Fidelius charm protected the headquarters but he apparently already knows the secret so he revealed it to me, in a way."

"I already know that, fool! What other news do you have concerning the secret?" Voldemort shouted in annoyance, causing the woman to shiver even more fearfully than she had earlier.

"I-I found a s-s-seer in the h-house. H-he t-t-told the order about the p-p-prophecy relating y-you and P-Potter. I d-didn't t-tell you s-sooner b-because I-I was s-s-still spying. I came right away a-after the owl L-Lucius s-s-sent t-t-telling me to r-report."

"And? What is the prophecy, then?" Voldemort asked impatiently.

"I-I do not k-know, m-my lord. I-I was nearby, h-h-hiding in s-shadows b-behind the o-order members. B-Before the s-s-seer started t-talking a-about the p-prophecy, h-he s-seemed to g-glare at D-Dumbledore, b-but in r-r-reality h-he was g-glaring at m-me. I-I was k-knocked out by t-that g-glare s-somehow. W-When I w-woke up t-the order were t-talking a-about the s-seer n-n-not r-remembering the p-prophecy he told. I am r-really sorry, m-my lord!"

Hearing that, Voldemort became furious. As is the usual for him, he released his anger upon his followers (or, in this case, the woman who he forced to work for him), in the form of the cruciatus curse. The woman screamed in agony for about a minute before Voldemort lifted the curse, and stared directly at her.

"Who is the seer?" he asked in a deadly calm voice.

"He is…" the woman hesitated. 'I don't want to cause him harm but if I don't tell the dark lord I'm going to be dead…' she thought. As Voldemort's wand rose again in preparation to curse her for her hesitation, she made a decision, a decision that she knew she will regret. She told the dark lord the name of the seer. She shuddered as she saw Voldemort's cruel smile. Voldemort did not do anything to her, but she still shuddered in fear, not for her own life this time (as she had saved it by telling the dark lord about the seer), but for the unlucky seer who Voldemort might target.

'Please… Let chance have it that he will fail. Please let the child be safe. Please, whichever God is listening, please, help me help the order in protecting the child!' her heart cried out a prayer, hoping with all her might that everything might pass in the way she wanted. She knew that she was a liar, a greedy person who earned money by publishing scandalous but interesting stories via the Daily Prophet, but she was in no way heartless or evil. Though she was good at lying, adept at it even, she just couldn't lie to Voldemort. His legilimency will just make him see through the lie. She could, however, pray for the unlucky soul who is now a target, as prayers come from the heart, and not the mind. Unbeknownst to her, someone else who had a connection with the dark lord had seen all this, and was just as determined (if not more so) to help the seer.

-Saturday afternoon, Grimauld Place-

There was no training today, as the teens and instructors were just starting to recover from the attack yesterday. They decided to relax, play some games, and perhaps read some books to pass the time. Sure, no one was killed in the attack, nor did they kill anyone in it, but it was still a frightening experience for them. Their concern for their friend who hadn't woke up yet from his magical fatigue yesterday made them even more edgy then they already were. Harry was the most irritated of the teens, as his scar has been hurting since morning and frightening visions played themselves in his mind, one particular vision being the most prominent. His silence and decision to not share the visions he had about Diagon Alley's attack yesterday made him feel guilty despite the order member's assurance that they did not blame him. His friends also didn't think that it was Harry's fault, but he still blamed himself for everything that happened to them. Determined to not make the same mistake, he told the other order members about Voldemort's desire to kidnap Orion to obtain the prophecy, hoping that they would help protect him and let their guard up.

Lunch was a quiet affair. None of the occupants at House #12, Grimauld Place, spoke a single word during it. The air was thick with tension, with most order members being angry, stressed, and annoyed and the teens being edgy and concerned. After lunch, the teens decided not to do anything at all, having no mood to even talk. It was then that Orion descended the staircase (he had been sleeping in one of the guest rooms on the second floor) and greeted them softly. All the teens hugged him, patted him in his back, and praised him for a job well done. Orion just thanked them before walking towards one of the overstuffed armchairs and sat, seemingly still tired. He looked pale, as though he was sick. When Molly placed a bit of lunch in front of the young boy he only managed to eat a mouthful of soup and drink his pumpkin juice, apparently too tired to even think about food.

"Have some fruits at least, you need something in your stomach before you can have a restorative draught," Molly said. Orion just nodded and slowly ate an apple and a few small slices of watermelons, before downing the restorative draught. He looked better, but was still mostly silent, only giving brief replies when questions were asked.

"Are you… uhm… OK?" Draco asked somewhat awkwardly.

"Just tired," Orion replied with a nod.

"Orion… I… I am sorry. I have seen the attack coming via Voldemort's visions but decided not to share it since it might dampen your happiness at buying Hogwarts stuff for the first time… I didn't realise the attack was happening right then and there yesterday, otherwise I would've told you and asked everyone to evacuate before it came and you'd not be fatigued like this!" Harry said, his sentence almost ending with a shout, as tears started streaming down his cheeks. "Please, forgive me, I didn't mean to let you be hurt by debris and I didn't want you to be involved in the fighting either! I should have listened to Remus and brought you out of there instead of letting you heal people and drain your magic! I am sorry, I was just too impulsive and decided to fight instead of-" Harry was interrupted by a small and gentle hand on his arm.

"Not your fault. Stop blaming yourself. I wanted to help out anyway. Besides, my happiness was not dampened since I got to buy Hogwarts stuff and then do what I liked most: helping people out. I wasn't even hurt bad," Orion said softly. Harry just hugged him, too emotional to reply properly. Orion's smile, however, made Harry calm down and managed to lift the mood of the other teens as well.

After a few moments, when Harry had fully regained his composure, he told Orion about Voldemort's plan and asked his young friend to be careful. Orion's hand (still on Harry's arm) tensed, and he looked apprehensive and slightly fearful.

"Just… be careful, OK?" Harry repeated. Orion just nodded before frowning, now in deep thought.

"I'll try to figure out what I could learn to prepare myself for this possibility," Orion said softly.

"Just don't challenge Voldemort to a fight, he's dangerous," Harry pleaded. Orion cringed slightly at the dark lord's name, but nodded at Harry's request.

"I won't fight him unless I have no other choice, Harry. Don't worry about it. What we need to worry about now is the animagus you saw in the visions. If she had passed through the Fidelius she would be able to bring You-Know-Who and his followers in here…"

Harry nodded, but he was actually confused by the technical workings of the Fidelius charm. He looked up at Hermione, seeing that Ron and Ginny had done the same.

"What did Orion mean, Mione?" Ron asked before Harry could. Hermione sighed in exasperation.

"Honestly! I think what he said was quite clear." The intelligent witch answered.

"TO you maybe, but we don't understand. Even Harry doesn't!" Ron countered hotly. Before an argument can occur between the two, Orion spoke up.

"Remember how Professor Dumbledore gave you the piece of paper with the address of the house, Harry? That's him sharing the secret with you so you can get into the house. Essentially, Uncle Sirius accidentally shared the secret of the house with that animagus who rode on him when he entered."

"But I remember someone telling me the Fidelius works in such a way that only the secret keeper could reveal the secret to anyone he wants, and that others who knew the secret aren't necessarily the secret keeper? So how did Sirius reveal the secret to that woman then?" Harry asked. Hermione frowned.

"I don't know. I think Fidelius charms are meant to protect against threats, so maybe it allowed the beetle in because the charm didn't detect that the beetle was actually an animagus? After all, mosquitos and stuff can still fly into the house… but I really have no idea myself."

Ginny's face turned into a frown of concentration as she pulled out a role of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink, ready to take notes. She wrote down "Fidelius only works on threats and is unable to detect animagi" on the parchment. She then wrote, in larger writing, the words "possible improvements" below it and underlined the words.

"So what do you guys think we could do to prevent this woman from entering headquarters ever again? For that matter how do we prevent leakage of secret by unintentional means, like how Sirius did?" Ginny asked. After a few minutes of brainstorming, Harry said, "We can't do anything to prevent those things. Not by ourselves, anyway. We can only research and tell the order the results, since we aren't qualified to cast magic outside school. Heck, we're dealing with wards and advanced spells here, it's better left to the pros."

The other teens there nodded, and as if by silent agreement they all moved together towards the Black family library, determined to do their best to prevent Harry's visions from coming true.

"We're missing something here… Even if the house has flawless protection, Orion is still vulnerable outside the house. You can't keep him locked in here forever, he still needs to go to school, play outside the house, and so on." Draco said in a soft and hesitant voice while they were still walking towards their destination, causing the others' frown of concentration to deepen considerably. Ginny wrote down the words "still vulnerable outside house" in the parchment she was still carrying. Orion sighed softly, before starting to speak.

"I'm not supposed to say this but there might be a way. I'll need to ask mom and dad about the family protection necklace, see if they still have it and are willing to give it to me or let us duplicate the enchantments on it."

"Never knew you had a family protection necklace. Those are supposed to be rare, you know. According to what I know, they are made by writing runes onto a crystal necklace with the blood of a family member and when it's done, only those related to the person who gave his blood for the runes can touch the necklace without being harmed. They're also said to protect the family members wearing it, so long as the other family members that have blood relation to the wearer still love him or something. The stronger their bond the stronger the protection… Wait, how did you even have that necklace in your family?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I don't think I can tell you that. Suffice it to say that I know we have it but I don't know if I can use it. I only knew because it saved my dad's life once," Orion said, his voice still neutral but his face showing uncertainty and slight frustration. Ron didn't seem to notice and continued by asking, "Why wouldn't they? You are family after all."

Orion growled softly before speaking, his voice strained. "Because my sister needs it more as she is an auror. Duplicating the enchantments on the necklace is almost impossible seeing as it requires blood to activate. Besides, making another necklace makes the protection on each be cut in half. Sure, the protection strengthens if our familial bonds strengthen, but since the protection given by both necklaces draw from the same bond, the power is divided equally among the two."

He then fell silent and didn't answer any more questions. Seeing that they have arrived at the library, the teens immediately set about gathering books that may hold information about the topics being researched.

A few hours later, after extensive research and taking of notes, the teens gathered all the books used and placed them to one side so they can sit together to discuss things.

"So," Ginny started the discussion. "We know now that Hermione is right about the Fidelius charm not detecting animagi and other animals which aren't threatening. We also found that layers of intention detectors and magical signature identifiers could eliminate the loopholes in the Fidelius by detecting intentions of everyone entering and repelling bad-intentioned people, and by identifying magical signatures so anyone that enters trigger a messaging system inside the house stating who the person entering is. Dark magic detectors also should be added so those that knew the secret will still be repelled if they had dark magic on them, like the Imperious curse. We'll have to modify it though, since a few of our spies probably have dark marks... Anything I missed?"

"I don't think so, at least about the Fidelius. What about the family protection necklace?" Hermione asked. Harry frowned, then looked at the parchment he took notes in, then flicking his eyes to the parchment Ginny was holding to see if he missed anything.

"I copied down the runes needed to make such a necklace, but sadly Orion's right. If more people of the same family wear family protection necklaces the protection given will be divided equally among them, weakening it further the more people wearing the necklaces there are. I wonder if we could ask the Weasley twins to make necklaces with protegos, or better yet, protego maxima, charmed into the necklace…"

Orion spoke for the first time in hours. "Not possible. Even the most powerful crystals have limits to the amount of magical energy that can be stored and sustained in them. If you charm a protego maxima necklace the crystal will have to either be extremely powerful or extremely large, making it unsuitable to be a necklace."

Hermione was staring at Orion strangely. "How do you know all that? We have been in the library for, what, only a few hours. Besides, I thought you were researching the fidelius?"

Orion shrugged. "Yeah, but I am also interested in the topic of enchanted clothing, that's all. When I want to know something I get all the details I can."

"Anything to add, Ron, Draco?" Ginny asked.

"We figured that the string used for magic necklaces should probably be dragon hide or made of dragon heartstring. They are said to be able to increase the amount of magic that can be stored or charmed into the necklace. That way, we could have a runed crystal serving as the main component for the protection spell and hang it on dragon heartstring or strings made of dragon hide that are charmed with spells to increase the power of the protection." Draco said.

"I don't mean to speak for Orion but I think he should learn more than just combative magic and healing magic to protect himself. He should learn some rune magic and other spells with subtler effects too. You-Know-Who would expect combative spells but I think we could try and surprise him with say, rune magic that opens an escape portal from within our prison. Heck, even if Orion is wandless he could still perform those kinds of magic so that's a bonus." Ron said.

"But don't those kinds of magic take time to even prepare, let alone cast?" Harry asked

Ron nodded. He then smiled slightly. "Yeah, but if you are adept at it you can do it as fast as waving a wand. It's like normal wanded spells, when you first learn levitation you'd do it slowly to make sure you do it right but when you are used to it the movement, or in this case, the writing of runes becomes second nature."

The other teens, finding no fault with his assessment, nodded. "One question. Runic magic requires that the caster write runes and activate them in order for them to take effect. How does a wandless person write runes? He'd still need a wand or knife or something to draw runes, even if it's in the air, right?" Draco asked.

"The caster of runic magic, when adept enough at it, could use his hands as a pen, so he could write the runes in the air simply by making gestures with his fingers. Sure, he'll have to learn a little bit of wandless magic to solidify the runes but I think Orion can do it, even though it'll take time," Ron replied.

"He's not even a first year, Ron! He hasn't even started school and you're expecting him to learn wandless magic?" Hermione said in disbelief.

"He already used healing magic and other spells before he even started first year, so I am confident he can do this. This is very basic wandless magic - in fact, many wizards started learning wandless magic by learning how to solidify their magic in the air or on a focused area before they went on to study how to cast spells wandlessly. Heck, even children managed to draw stuff in the air using their magic while playing, albeit accidentally and without any understanding of what they've done." Ron explained.

"Let's run these by the Order of the Phoenix first," Ginny said, gesturing to the parchment she still held containing notes of everything her friends talked about. "Even if Orion is interested in learning runic magic, I think we should ask the order first before letting him do it."

Orion just nodded. "I'll learn if the order allows it." He said.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: well I dunno if I should proceed so fast all of a sudden - I feel 10 chapters are sufficient enough of a start to the story, so in this chapter I'm going to move to Hogwarts. Well unless people wanted to see details of their training and stuff, in which case I could easily make this the 12th or 13th chapter… Give me your thoughts! Also, my update schedule will be sporadic from now on until about the end of November since I need to prepare for a government level exam (look up SPM or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia if you want to know more about that). Feel free to check on my progress on the story through emails and stuff. Rest assured I will never forget this story. Now, onward to the next chapter!

Chapter 11: The start of the new school year

-Friday morning, September 1st-

"Oi, Ron! Hurry it up already or we're gonna be late for the train!" Fred said loudly next to Ron in his room, where he was still packing and trying to get ready as fast as he can.

"Shut up or come help me or something! If you don't wanna help then go bother someone else!" Ron said in slight annoyance.

"Oo, how polite of you. Perfect example of how prefects should speak at school. Prefect Hermione should learn from you," Fred said sarcastically. Ron scowled but decided not to reply and take the bait. George broke the momentary silence by saying, "Well little brother, everyone else are ready, save you. Also it was mum who asked us to come and hurry you up."

Ron growled, stashed everything into his trunk in a completely messy order, and said, "Fine, fine. I'm done now. Happy?" he said, trying to drag his trunk with him out of the room and to where the others are waiting, but he had quite a bit of difficulty as it is quite heavy. Even though he had gained some muscle mass in the past month due to the rigorous training they were put through, he still had a little bit of trouble with it.

"C'mon and help me, would ya?" Ron said. Fred sighed in mock annoyance. "Fine, but only this once," he said and with a smirk, he raised his wand and levitated the trunk for his younger brother.

"Must be nice to be able to cast magic without restrictions now," Ron muttered.

OOO

After a few moments of riding in ministry cars (the adults going onto one while the students going onto another), they finally arrived at King's Cross and immediately moved past the barrier to Platform 9¾. Fortunately for the students, they arrived a few minutes before 11, and started saying goodbye to their parents and the other adults there that they knew.

"Have a nice school term, Draco, and be sure to write often. Also, stay closer to Blaise and Ted. They're the friends you should have now, and you could work together to help others since you have the same ideals," Narcissa said in a soft whisper, trying not to let anyone hear her, save her son.

"Sure, mother. I'll be fine," Draco smiled, hugged his mother and went onto the train, shouting as he went, "See you in Christmas!"

Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley also said goodbye to their children in their own way, Mrs. Weasley by hugging them firmly and giving the twins an earful of advices and Mr. Weasley by shaking their hands and sending them off with a pat.

Before Harry went onto the train, Sirius stopped him with an outstretched hand. When Harry turned to look at his beloved (and now younger-looking) godfather, Sirius slapped something into his hands.

"What's this?" Harry questioned while looking at the rectangular package in his hands. Sirius smirked mischievously.

"Two-way mirror. You can talk to me simply by saying my name into the surface of the mirror. James and I used this a lot during our school days to plan mischief while we're at separate detentions." He then became more serious. "Given the current circumstances, I feel that giving you a way to contact me, and consequently the order, directly through your mirror is a must. Use it if you need anything or some sort of emergency occurs," he whispered into his godson's ear. Harry nodded.

"Thanks, Sirius." Harry said, waved, then went onto the train.

Orion hugged his parents and sister and stayed like that for a few moments, then slowly extricated himself from them, now ready to start his first year at Hogwarts.

"Now you better behave yourself at school, young man. I don't want to hear about any mischief or pranks done out of malicious intent by you from the school, got it?" Andromeda said sternly. Her husband nodded in agreement before adding, "That said, you should still have some fun at school. You can be a little fun-loving and mischievous, as long as your pranks don't hurt anyone."

Orion's older sister Nymphadora then spoke up. "Remember to write to us often, little bro. And good luck in your studies!"

Orion smiled happily. "I will. Thanks for the advices, mom, dad, sis. Love you all. And sis?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for allowing me to use the family protection necklace. I really can't thank you enough. As I said before, I'm scared, but with your love and protection on me I am less afraid now," Orion spoke, a thankful smile appearing on his face. His family members all nodded, patted him, waved, and sent him off. Hermione's parents also hugged and waved at their daughter and asked her to be safe at school. Even though they were muggles, they knew quite a lot about the magical world and knew that a war is slowly escalating, but they did not want Hermione's education to be influenced. Hermione promised them to be careful and boarded the train. With last waves and shouts of goodbye, the train lurched forward and then started moving to its destination.

OOO

On the train, the Weasley twins sat with their friends in a compartment, Draco went into a compartment with Blaise, Ted and a few other friends, Orion went in search of a compartment for himself with the excuse of wanting to make new friends, and the golden trio went into a compartment together with Ginny. Now sitting comfortably in the compartment, Harry started thinking about recent events. After the research about the Fidelius charm and family protection necklaces in the black library near the end of July, they brought their research notes and shared the results with the Order of the Phoenix. Consequently, new and significantly improved wards were added to #12, Grimauld Place, to increase its protection. The original Fidelius charm was also modified in such a way that anyone not directly told the secret by the secret keeper can no longer enter, effectively denying access to the beetle animagus who spied on them last time. Harry thought that the beetle might have been Rita Skeeter due to the woman in his visions looking familiar. As for the family protection necklace issue, Andromeda and Edward Tonks originally did not want to let Orion have it, stating that Nymphadora needed it more, but after much debate, Nymphadora decided to give the necklace to her younger brother, stating that she could protect herself as she is an auror. Eventually, the Tonks parents agreed with their daughter's decision after realising what she said was the truth. Orion also started learning runic magic and a few other types of magic that day, mainly taught by Remus (who got an O in his ancient runes N.E.W.T.s and knew a lot about other types of magic). They had all physically, magically and mentally grown at a rapid pace for the past month, due to the training they were put through under the tutelage of Kingsley, Moody, Remus and a few others.

As for the political state of the country, Cornelius Fudge had been sentenced for life in Azkaban due to committing treason, attempted murder, corruption, and other charges that he was found guilty of. Voldemort had also not made any other moves after the Diagon Alley attack at the end of July, which was pretty surprising for all the order members. Madam Bones had also secretly joined the Order of the Phoenix (Harry only knew because he overheard a conversation between Remus and Mr. Weasley about that). Rita Skeeter had also been writing articles, but most of the order members believe that the articles are either written out of desperation or written by an imposter, since they believed Harry when he said that the beetle animagus he saw might have been the annoying reporter. The whole of the wizarding world seemed to be at peace, and Minister Malfoy said that aurors and other DMLE personnel are being recruited and trained for war. Even though there was peace and no war in the world at the moment, the sense of tension was still there, and the whole situation of peace seemed strained and might change at any moment. Sure, more and more death eaters were caught recently, but many people thought that the whole thing might be a ruse. It wouldn't have mattered if they caught 100 death eaters or even 500, because most of them knew that as soon as the war escalated, Azkaban would be Voldemort's first target.

Harry frowned as his thoughts wandered and touched on the horcrux still within him. He had been using the connection between himself and the dark lord (against his better judgment) to receive visions and warn the order members about Voldemort's next possible moves. After he started occlumency training with Professor Snape, the connection had weakened significantly. He could no longer receive any visions from Voldemort unless he consciously lowered his occlumency shields, which he dared not do especially after the professor warned him that Voldemort realised what he was doing before the occlumency training and was planning to use the connection against him. Harry and Professor Snape's hatred for each other had cooled, mainly because the older man realised that Harry was not the boy he thought him to be. Harry was not arrogant, egotistical or annoying - in fact, it was quite the opposite. When the professor stopped hating Harry, naturally Harry stopped hating the man as well. This situation helped both of them a lot, particularly Harry, since a calm mind without hatred is essential to maintain occlumency shields. Also, after Harry talked to Dumbledore, the old man went back to #4, Privet Drive, to check on the Dursleys to see if they were, in fact, affected by the horcrux inside Harry. Dumbledore had confirmed Harry's thoughts, saying that they were indeed affected but it was not too late to help the Dursleys overcome the negativity the horcrux had brought them in life. The problem now was convincing the Dursleys to come closer to a bunch of wizards (as the cleansing ritual requires a group of wizards standing in a circle around the person who is to be cleansed), but Dumbledore said that he was working on it. Harry wasn't supposed to participate in the ritual though, since the horcrux within him will just re-influence the Dursleys again. After a while of thinking about recent events, Harry answered the call of Morpheus and drifted off to Dreamland.

OOO

Draco, Blaise, Ted and a few other Slytherins of the Light Alliance (they have adopted that name after Harry jokingly referred to them as such) sat in awkward silence in the compartment, looking at each other uncertainly. It was Draco who broke the silence when it got too tense and unbearable.

"So I guess… We'll be considered enemies by a lot of the Slytherins this year."

Many of the Slytherins with him nodded, except Ted who shook his head slightly.

"Not if we can convince them to join us, and not if some of them already realised their mistakes for being pureblood supremacists and supporting You-Know-Who," he said. The Slytherins once again nodded, more uncertainly this time.

"We have to look out for ourselves and each other from now on. It's kinda dangerous, being on the side of light when most of our housemates are probably You-Know-Who's supporters. I say we just try to avoid trouble from them. Also," Draco stopped, then sighed heavily before forcing himself to continue speaking. "Look out for our friends who might be under compulsions. I was under one, after all."

Everyone in that compartment stared at Draco, completely speechless. Draco sighed again, before telling his friends about the compulsion his father placed on him that was only discovered near July's end. That fact boiled the blood of all the Slytherins there.

"We have more reason to fight then," said Blaise. "If people, especially our own parents, dared to put compulsions on us… then… then we dare to fight back for our rights to choose freely!"

"yeah!" the compartment was filled with the sound of about 7 students shouting with zeal, now even more determined and motivated to fight than they ever were before.

OOO

Many would've thought that the compartment with the twins, Lee Jordan and a few other students would've been chaotic, noisy, and full of laughter. Instead, if anyone had stumbled in, they would've seen the students absentmindedly play wizard's chess or exploding snap with each other while discussing… serious issues.

"You guys heard of the Diagon Alley attack near the end of July?" Lee inquired. Most students there nodded, save the twins who frowned deeply.

"We didn't hear of it. We participated," Fred said grimly to the surprise of most.

"You what?" Lee asked again, his voice sounding disbelieving.

"Not that hard to believe, is it? The news did say Hogwarts students evacuated people and stuff, and Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and a few others were involved. Even Malfoy was!" George said, surprising their friends again. Before anyone could ask, Fred spoke up.

"Malfoy wasn't actually a git by choice, or so I think. I know for a fact that a compulsion was put on him by his own father when he was 4. It was removed recently, and when Malfoy realised what he did, he felt true guilt and decided to join the light in the war, instead of the side of his father or the death eaters."

The others were yet again shocked. They never realised the ever-so-annoying blond brat of Slytherin was actually under a compulsion. They knew, of course, how Lucius Malfoy was, and probably still is, a death eater, but they never suspected he would do such a foul thing to his own son… and wife, as is soon revealed by the twins.

"I pity him now," Lee said grimly. "At least, if all of that is true."

"It is," both Weasleys chorused.

"I have an idea," George smiled somewhat evilly. "We have been making pranks ever since our first year practically, why not develop our pranks into something… well… more?" he said, to the confusion of most save his other twin, whose evil grin matched George's own.

OOO

Orion found an empty compartment and immediately dragged his trunk into it. With effort, he lifted the trunk and placed it on the overhead carriage, before sitting down and starting to meditate. He had started practicing meditation and control ever since the beginning of August because of his seer abilities going out of whack.

FLASHBACK.

It was a day after Harry's birthday. The celebration was grand last night, with cakes and a lot of presents for the birthday boy. Everyone was tired from the intense partying done, so they decided to relax and enjoy the nice weather today… save Orion who just sat rigidly on one of the cushioned chairs, tensing ever so often. It wasn't long before Harry noticed.

"What's wrong, Orion?" he asked, only for his friend to flinch, as if surprised by the question. Without warning, Orion suddenly jumped up from the chair and punched Harry in his arm, startling the older boy and bruising him slightly. Andromeda glared at her son and began scolding him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, boy! I thought I told you never to punch anyone?" Andromeda shouted, making Orion flinch again. The younger boy then shuddered, not in fear of Andromeda, but in fear of… something else. His eyes looked haunted and distant, before he suddenly blinked and regained focus.

"Mum? What are you shouting about?" Orion asked before gazing at Harry, who was cradling his arm.

"Harry, what's wrong?" he asked, causing the older boy (and subsequently everyone else) to gaze at him curiously.

"You just punched him when he asked you why you were so tense, didn't you remember?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"He's obviously lying or something. How could he not remember what he did to Harry?" Andromeda said, glaring at her son.

"I… what?" Orion inquired, similarly confused. It was then that Dumbledore moved closer to Orion, gazing directly into the blue eyes of the young boy before him. After a while, the old man spoke.

"He isn't lying, Andromeda. HE truly has no recollection of what he did. I can confirm that with a hundred percent certainty. He doesn't have occlumency shields up and I could see into his mind, and what I saw is… disturbing. He seemed to have fuzzy… memories… of horrible events, which is fading even as we speak. Events where the war has escalated. He seemed to be seeing battles that-" he suddenly stopped as he saw Orion's eyes glaze over again, his whole body tensing. Expecting the boy to speak, he was surprised when he remained silent, flinching ever so often.

"Hmm," Dumbledore hummed to himself, thinking, before suddenly realising what was happening. He drew his wand, then held Orion in place with one hand, the boy not even reacting to the almost-too-harsh treatment. Waving it across Orion's forehead and over his head at times, Dumbledore started to chant… in English.

"Oh inner eye of the seer, focus on the reality, on the present, and close thy lids. With ancient magic I plead thee rest, and with ancient energies I beg the chakra of the third eye and the chakra of the crown to be temporarily sealed. I command thee to return from thy visions of the futures. Oh gateways to the futures, be sealed!" a glow suddenly surrounded Orion's eyes before spreading out, over his head. Orion relaxed again, eyes completely clear once again.

"What just happened?" he asked curiously. "One second you were there," he said to Dumbledore, pointing slightly away from him, "And the next you were here pointing your wand at me."

Andromeda had calmed by this point and gazed at her son curiously. "You really don't remember?"

Orion raised his eyebrows but before he could speak, Dumbledore raised his hand to silence him.

"He wouldn't remember. He was, in a way, stuck in his visions of the future. His inner eye was just too strong and he did not know how to control his powers so that he only sees what he wants to. Sure, you can't control the seeing of prophecies, but normal visions like this can be controlled."

"What does that have to do with anything though?" Orion's father questioned curiously.

"It has everything to do with it. He was so stuck in his visions that it seemed to be reality to him. I assumed that in his visions he saw something horrible and acted to ward it away, hence the accidental punch on Harry's arm. He only reacted to your scolding, Andromeda, because his willpower was strong enough to exert moderate control over his inner eye, stopping the visions temporarily. IT came back, though, so he stopped reacting to you again." Dumbledore explained.

"I.. I never intended to punch you, Harry! I'm sorry! Please, I really didn't know-" Orion said in guilt, but was interrupted by Harry saying that he forgave him.

"So, how to control his inner eye? You said it's possible," Hermione asked.

"Meditation. He must learn to sense his inner eye and learn to incorporate it into his consciousness so that he could open and close it like he could his normal eyes. I'll have Severus teach him simple meditation - he can't learn occlumency yet at such a young age since his mind is still developing, but when he can, it certainly would help."

END FLASHBACK.

Professor Snape started teaching him meditation a day after that incident, and Orion had been using it every day since then. He liked the calmness meditation provided him, and due to him being used to it, he could do it on the train no problem despite the noise of it moving. He also made sure that he was still aware of everything around him while meditating to not get caught off guard if anything happens. He received a small crystal ball from Harry on his birthday (the 28th of August) that helped him a lot in using his seer abilities as the crystal strengthens his control over his inner eye and allowed him to see things more clearly when he decided to open the eye. Harry didn't give him a larger crystal ball because according to him, the larger crystals radiate too much energy and would overwhelm Orion since he was still new to being a seer.

About five minutes after Orion entered the compartment, a hesitant knock sounded at the door, causing the young boy to stand and open it while peering out.

"H-Hello," said a small, timid boy with dark hair and emerald green eyes similar to Harry's, who was standing right outside uncertainly, his trunk right beside him on the ground. He was slightly shorter than Orion himself, and seemed to have trouble catching his breath, probably from dragging the heavy-looking trunk around. The boy continued by asking, "Is this compartment occupied?"

Orion smiled warmly and answered, "No, I am the only one in here. Come in and have a seat if you'd like to."

The boy smiled and accepted Orion's invitation, but when he tried to drag his trunk again he ended up tipping it over and falling himself.

"Oh, are you alright? I'll help," Orion said, reaching out a hand to help the boy, who accepted it with a blush appearing on his face.

"Thanks. Sorry, I didn't mean to trouble you."

"No trouble at all. We'll get your trunk in there together," Orion said, holding one of the trunk's handles while the boy held the other, and they dragged it in, Orion closing the door with one hand while doing so. He then lifted it and placed it lightly on the overhead carriage right next to his own trunk. When he gazed at the boy again he saw that the boy was still standing there and still blushing slightly.

"C'mon and sit," Orion said with a grin, gesturing to the large empty space next to him. The boy accepted the invitation.

"I didn't mean to trouble you, and twice in a day at that. Sorry. By the way my name is Mark. Mark Evans. I'm going to Hogwarts for the first time. What about you?" the boy asked shyly.

"It's no trouble at all, like I said earlier. And my name is Orion Tonks. I'm a first year too, and it's nice to meetcha," Orion replied, his warm smile still intact.

Orion and Mark talked to each other all the way to Hogwarts, even playing a few rounds of exploding snap (Mark didn't know what those were as he is a muggleborn but Orion taught him how to play) while they're at it. They got to know each other well and wished that they would be sorted into the same house. They shared their experiences with each other, Orion curious about life as a muggleborn and Mark's reaction when he knew that magic really existed, and Mark himself interested in Orion's life as a pureblood and what he might know about magic.

OOO

A few hours later, all the students got into their robes and got down from the train as they have just arrived at the Hogsmeade train station. There, standing slightly away from the tracks as usual, was Hagrid.

"Firs years! Firs years over ere and follow me!" Hagrid's voice boomed out as he scanned the crowd for those who came to the school for the first time. Many of the first years looked a little fearful, but followed Hagrid without asking too many questions. The rest of the students also moved along, towards the direction of the school.

"Firs years tah the boats. No more than 4 in one. The rest of yas know what tah do and where tah go," Hagrid said again. The rest of the students all moved towards the horseless carriages and got in… save Harry who gazed at the empty space in front of the carriages in surprise and slight fear.

"What're those things pulling the carriages?" Harry asked curiously, gesturing to what seemed like empty air in front of him. Hagrid, hearing the commotion from afar, looked up and walked over after asking the first years to stay put.

"Wha's up ere?" he asked.

"Hagrid… What're those things pulling the carriages?" Harry asked.

"Honestly Harry, there's nothing there… You were gesturing at empty air!" Hermione said in answer, but Harry shook his head.

" Something's definitely there. I dunno, they looked like skeletal horses with-" Harry was interrupted by Luna, who said, "With black, bat-like wings?"

Harry just nodded curiously. "Yeah. You can see them too?" He asked, and was answered with a nod from Luna, but the rest of the students were completely at a loss. Hagrid sighed slightly while gazing at both Harry and Luna.

"Those are thestrals. Mighty smart creatures they are, with a good sense o direction, but mos of ya dint see em an tha's usual. Those o you who can see em had seen death before. Only those who had grieved for someone who died can see em," he explained grimly. Harry and Luna both nodded in understanding, though Harry shuddered slightly as he knew exactly who he had grieved for… Cedric.

With a shrug, Harry went into one of the carriages, forcing himself not to burst into tears after remembering Cedric's death. Hermione, Ron and Ginny went into the same carriage as Harry, and they moved along to Hogwarts as Hagrid lead the boats where the first years are in, through the black lake and to the school.

OOO

After a few minutes, they arrived at the school, and the second through seventh years went to the Great Hall to wait for the first years and for Professor McGonagall to get ready to sort them. Soon enough, the double line of first years came into the hall and stood in front of all the other students, most looking frightened or nervous.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years. And to all the other students I say welcome back. Now before we start with our welcoming feast, we shall sort the first years into their houses, which will either be Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin. Each of you should be on your best behaviour at the school, as good behaviours, academic achievements and so on will earn your house points, and bad behaviour, bullying and so on will make you lose points. Alright, let's start with the sorting." Professor McGonagall said while bringing out the stool with the sorting hat on it. All the students remained silent, waiting for the sorting hat to burst into its song, while the first years waited anxiously and curiously. It wasn't long before the sorting hat started to sing. Its song was quite unlike usual, as instead of just introducing each house, it also sang about unity, encouraging all students from different houses to unite and face the dark times together as one. That unnerved many of the students, but before any of them said anything, Professor McGonagall started to call the first years forward, one by one in alphabetical order to be sorted.

"Abercrombie, euan" went to Ravenclaw, "Ashlee, Adams" went to Hufflepuff… and the sorting continued with many other students being sorted into their houses, some of them taking longer to be sorted.

"Evans, Mark!" The professor called out, and the dark haired student from before stepped forward shyly, sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head… and waited.

"Evans?" Hermione said curiously. "I heard his last name correctly, right?"

"Yeah… Why're you so interested in that?" Ron asked in confusion.

"Well it's just… I've seen him, with emerald green eyes and all… And Harry's mother is an Evans too, isn't she? So do you think they might be related somehow?" she said, her own curiosity peaked.

"Hmm… I've seen him in Little Whinging before, but I never gave much thought as to whether we might be related. It's always a possibility I guess," Harry said thoughtfully before falling silent to watch the boy be sorted into Gryffindor, to much cheering from his new housemates. "Tonks, Orion" was called forward after about a dozen more students after Mark was sorted.

Orion stepped forward nervously, his eyes looking down towards the ground. Even after meditating, he didn't feel calm about the sorting. He sat on the stool and placed the hat over his head, which slipped down over his ears and covered his eyes slightly.

"Well, well, well. Mr. Tonks… I didn't think I would have to sort such a complicated mind like yours today…" the sorting hat said in the boy's head. "Yes, this will take time, but I can sort you. Hmm, let's see… Oo, runic magic, eh? And a thirst for knowledge rivaling many Ravenclaws… but oh no, no, you are not suited to that house, as you have other stronger traits…

"You definitely are hardworking, but then you usually work hard only on things you are interested in, so not Hufflepuff… You are loyal but nah, that's not your strongest trait.

"You definitely could be cunning and are definitely ambitious… No, no, not Slytherin. You won't mix well there. There may be a few students there that you could befriend, but… nope…" the sorting hat continued to sift through Orion's memories and experiences, trying to find his strongest traits and inner strength. An image of war suddenly flashed in Orion's mind as his control over his inner eye slipped slightly but he managed to get it back to normal again. The sorting hat gasped slightly in his head.

"Ah, so you are a seer after all… I saw the memories of Dumbledore saying that you are but I never saw any proof, probably because seers forget what they see unless they know what they are doing back then… But then, this complicates matters." The hat continued saying.

"Please," Orion whispered. "Sort me to where I belong, not based on my visions…"

"Of course, child. I never sort based on those things. Let's see here… Your innermost strength lies in your… your bravery. You may not feel that way yet, as you haven't done any brave deeds so far, or so you think… Most 11-year-olds would've been scared half to death in the Diagon Alley attack but you, you stayed and helped, that's bravery to its finest. So, I will sort you in…"

"Gryffindor!" the last part was shouted out by the hat to the whole school. The Gryffindors cheered loudly, none more so than Harry, Ron and Hermione, who personally knew the boy, and Mark, who liked him ever since he met him on the train. Orion blushed at all the cheering, involuntarily causing his hair to turn red for an instant, causing Mark and a few others to gasp in slight surprise.

The sorting continued with about 10 more students being sorted to their respective houses, before the welcoming feast began in earnest. Everyone at the Gryffindor table introduced themselves to each other, making sure that the first years knew the other students and the other students were acquainted with the newcomers. After they had all stuffed themselves full with food, the feast ended with all the plates vanishing from the table and Dumbledore knocking his glass with a spoon to gain attention.

"Before you all leave, I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce. The first years, please note that the forbidden forest is forbidden. No one is to enter without permission and without the presence of a professor. Secondly, the number of banned items has increased, and a list of all the banned items can be seen pasted on the door of Mr. Filch's office. Next, I'd like to introduce you to Professor Dolores Umbridge, the senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, and your defense against the dark arts professor." As Dumbledore finished speaking, a short, toad-like woman wearing all pink clothing stood up to… well… no applause. The students were all finding the situation strange at the very least, and didn't really know how to react. As soon as the professor stood up, however, Orion tensed and started to clench his fists in anger for some reason, and the golden trio and Ginny seemed to pale slightly. Mark looked at Orion curiously, as his fists were shaking with suppressed annoyance.

"What's up?" Mark asked softly. Orion frowned, then turned to mark. "I dunno. Just this strange hatred I feel towards her, and I didn't even know her," he answered, his voice strained. 'And I'm losing control of my inner eye this very moment. There's this strange evil aura surrounding her and I keep on seeing visions of her torturing students and stuff…' Orion thought to himself. He never mentioned the last part to Mark because Mark didn't know what a seer is yet, and Orion didn't intend to reveal it to him just yet. Soon enough, the toadish professor started to speak.

"Hem-hem." She made a high-pitched, throat-clearing noise that somehow infuriated Orion even more and made Harry and the others pale more than before.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, students! I'm so happy to see your young and eager faces, and your eyes, full of determination, looking at me. Your smiles are so heart-warming…" Orion, Harry, Ron and Ginny completely tuned out what Umbridge continued to say, too disgusted by her falsely sweet voice to even continue listening. Most students (even the dumber ones like Crab and Goyle) stopped listening to her and started their own conversations. The only student listening to her now was Hermione, and even she seemed to be angered and tired of her speech. The professor seemed completely oblivious that she had lost the students' attention, only increasing her volume, as if that would help. Orion had to literally hold his fists under the table to prevent himself from exploding in rage. As it stood, his hair had completely turned crimson, his knuckles had turned white, and his teeth were clenched so tightly that his jaw began to quiver slightly. After a while, the toad sat down, but no student noticed, and so she accepted no applause. After a while, the students realised that Dumbledore was the only professor standing now, and all of them fell silent as Dumbledore readied himself to speak. Dumbledore's voice actually faltered slightly, as if at a loss for words for a moment, before he said, "Off to bed with you, and may Morpheus watch over your dreams. Study your books and get ready to learn on Monday - you have a full weekend ahead of you that you can use as reading time. Now, see you students!"

All the Gryffindors followed Ron, Hermione and the other Gryffindor prefects to the Gryffindor common room and were told that the password was "warrior's pride". Orion, Mark and the other Gryffindors went up to their own dorms as Harry, Ron and Hermione went to the 5th-year's dorms and Ginny went to the 4th-year's dorm. Harry was frowning slightly as he entered the room.

"Notice how Orion looked like he was ready to punch Umbridge when she was speaking? I wonder why, I mean he didn't even know her yet back then," Harry said to Ron.

"Dunno. I'd wager that he saw some sort of vision or something that shows him that Umbridge is evil or something? You never know. He seemed to tense for a bit before he started getting all riled up," his best friend answered him tiredly. "Also, that Evans boy does look like you, his eyes at least. He might really be related to you after all."

"Yeah, probably. I'll see if I could talk to him and Orion tomorrow, see if I can find out about Orion's anger towards Umbridge and whether Mark is a relative of mine." Harry said before he went to bed. Even though the day had been exciting, he slept soundly without any dreams.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: *This is a telepathic message*. Also though parseltongue isn't introduced yet, :Parseltongue will be like this:. Now that that's out of the way, onward we go!

Chapter 12: Conversations, surprises... and imminent doom

-Saturday morning, September 2nd-

After a peaceful night, Mark woke up and looked around. His trunk was still where it had been last night - at the foot of his bed. The curtains around the bed (which he hadn't pulled back simply because he was too tired to care about privacy last night) were, of course, red and gold and had a huge lion design on it - the colours and symbol of Gryffindor. He looked around him again, towards where the other beds were, and saw that all but one of them still had a sleeping student on it. Apparently, Orion had woken up before him and left the room. Mark looked outside, and saw that it was still pretty early in the morning - the sun hadn't even risen yet. 'I wonder where Orion is…' Mark thought to himself. He had thought that he would be the earliest person to wake up like he had always been at home, but apparently he wasn't the earliest at school. Mark shrugged and decided to tidy himself up and unpack his trunk since breakfast wouldn't start for quite a while.

After he came out of the bathroom and just as he was starting to unpack, the door of their dorm opened gently and Orion walked in, sweaty yet looking satisfied. The door then closed almost silently and Orion glanced around him for a moment.

"Oh, morning Mark. You're up early," Orion whispered softly.

"Says the boy who woke before me and left to do god-knows-what. Why are you so sweaty anyway?" Mark asked curiously. Orion smiled.

"I was exercising. It has been my daily routine since July. I would wake up, exercise for a while then meditate. It just refreshes me and calms me down," Orion answered, his voice still soft as he tried not to wake the other students up.

"I see. I think... I'd like to join you on your routine, if you don't mind. I mean, I need to keep healthy too, right?" Mark said a little uncertainly. Orion just nodded with an encouraging smile before walking off to the bathroom to clean up.

After a while, as Mark finished unpacking everything, Orion came out of the shower, picked something up from his bedside table, sat on his own bed and started meditating. Mark just watched as Orion took deep, calming breaths, and gasped slightly when he sensed his friend's magic lightly pulsing outwards as he exhaled. HE looked more carefully and saw that Orion was holding some sort of crystal in his hands, which brightened and dimmed in sync with his breathing and magic. After about 15 minutes, Orion took one last, deep breath, and then stood up and placed the crystal back onto the table.

"What… was that?" Mark asked, somewhat lost in thought after seeing what Orion did.

"Hmm? I was just meditating, nothing much," Orion muttered.

"Yeah but… the crystal?" Mark inquired while looking directly at the crystal ball on his friend's bedside table.

"Sorry Mark, I can't tell you just yet. It's not that I don't trust you or anything but, it's sort of a secret that shouldn't be revealed to anyone except those who already knew. I can tell you this though. You wouldn't need the crystal to meditate." Orion said apologetically. Mark sighed, but nodded in understanding, causing Orion to smile slightly.

OOO

Harry, Ron and Neville went to the Great Hall together since breakfast was going to start soon. They didn't wait for Dean and Seamus because both were still sleeping and would probably not wake up for quite a while yet - they both had always been heavy sleepers, especially on weekends. They arrived and took seats at their usual place, greeting a few students who had also came to the Great Hall to wait. A few minutes later, Hermione, Ginny, Mark and Orion walked in, all wearing smiles on their faces.

"Morning guys," Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Orion spoke coincidentally at the same time, causing everyone there to laugh.

"Well, it's good to see that our bonds have strengthened to the point where we have similar thoughts," Harry said with a smirk, causing the others to chuckle slightly. When the students were all seated, they started to converse since breakfast had yet to begin.

"So what'd you all plan to do after eating?" Ron asked, starting off the conversation.

"Going to the library, probably. I should study the textbooks so I have a good grasp on stuff that the professors might teach, and the library's probably the quietest place around," Orion said softly. Hermione nodded in agreement, causing the others (save Mark) to roll their eyes slightly.

"I expected something like that," Ron snickered, earning him a glare from the clever witch that sat opposite him.

"Well excuse me for wanting to succeed in my studies and my life," Hermione said in slight annoyance, causing the others to chuckle at her predicament.

"I want to explore the school," Mark muttered. "I don't even know where most things are yet. Classrooms, the library and other stuff."

"It's pretty easy to navigate around the school once you're familiar with it. Oh and watch out for the moving stairs, they might get you confused," Ron advised, and Mark nodded slightly. A comfortable silence fell at the Gryffindor table as the students pondered about nothing in particular. It was at that moment that Harry nudged Orion's mind with gentle legilimency (Snape had taught him the basics since he might need that skill later). Orion knew what Harry wanted - a telepathic link so they can converse privately. Harry didn't mind-link with Orion directly because he hadn't mastered telepathy magic where as it somehow came naturally to Orion. Snape said that it was probably because Orion already had mental abilities (seer's magic being a sort of obscure natural mental ability), so other mind-related skills will come to him more easily. Orion shot a subtle glance over at Harry, before initiating a link between them.

Everything around them became slightly muted as the telepathic link became their main mental focus.

*So, what did you want to talk about, Harry?* Orion asked mentally.

*I dunno… I am just curious about something I guess. I probably shouldn't ask this mentally but seeing as Mark probably didn't know about your seer abilities this might be the best for now…* Harry replied.

*OK, curious about what? *

*Well… Remember yesterday, when Umbridge stood up and gave a speech? You looked like you were angry with her or something, even though she didn't do anything to you at the time. Heck, you didn't even know her then! So why were you so angry?* Harry queried. Orion frowned mentally.

*I don't actually know why. The only thing I know is that whenever I look at Umbridge, I instinctually become angry and my inner eye opens by itself. I kept seeing images of her torturing students and stuff… It's as though I couldn't control it. Also, I could sense a sort of evil aura around her.*

*I see… That's odd, even for you. I mean, you have always been able to control your inner eye after Snape taught you how…* Harry wondered.

*Hmm… Guess she's just too evil or something. Is there anything else before I disconnect us?* Orion questioned.

*Nope, go ahead and unlink us,* Harry replied mentally to his younger friend, before Orion gently pulled himself out of the telepathic link, and their perception of things around them became normal once more.

Breakfast began a few moments later, with a variety of food on the tables for the students to choose from, scrambled eggs, bacon, bread, milk and cereal being among them. It was during breakfast that Harry spoke.

"Hey Evans… Er… Mark?" the young boy glanced over at Harry when he heard his name being called.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Call me Harry, please. And can we have a conversation after breakfast? I want to ask you something," Harry asked, somewhat uncomfortably. He knew Mark from Little Whinging, and knew that his own reputation was probably pretty bad, with everyone there thinking that he went to St. Brutus' Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. He was quite ready to accept a no from Mark, but he was slightly surprised when Mark just nodded and smiled at him.

"Sure, Harry. I actually need to talk to you too," Mark answered.

Right after Mark finished speaking, owls started flying into the Great Hall, searching for students that had packages and letters sent from home. Hermione received a copy of the muggle newspaper from her parents (she wanted to know what was happening in the muggle world), Ron and Ginny received letters from their mum which advised them to be well-behaved, as did Fred and George, Mark and Orion received letters from their parents congratulating them for being sorted in Gryffindor (neither Mark nor Orion knew how they had knowledge about where they're sorted in) and Harry received the usual tea invitation from Hagrid. All the owls flew back out of the Great Hall, save one which wore the Gringotts crest. The owl flew around the hall, trying to find the intended recipient of the letter currently tied to its leg, before it landed near Harry and held a leg out for him. The other students continued their meals after that, and Harry untied the letter from the owl and gave it a few pieces of toast from his plate, which the owl gladly took before flying out. Opening the seal on the letter, Harry began to read.

.

.

.

Dear Mr. Potter,

We wish to tell you that there has been a change of plans about your appointment on the 28th of December 1995. Instead of coming alone to the bank for what we have discussed on the 28th of July, we ask that you bring a few trustworthy wizards with you. The closer you are to them (we are not talking about familial bonds but rather the bond of friendship), the better. Have 5 or more wizards accompany you to the bank as we discovered that the ritual we wish to perform as discussed last time required quite an amount of magical energy and love (hence why it is more effective the closer the bond you share with the wizards are). We humbly ask for your forgiveness for not telling you this earlier. We also apologize for the vagueness of the letter, as we are told not to reveal anything sensitive in it in case the letter was intercepted. We end this letter by stating that we wish to see you and your wizard friends on the appointed date and time.

Yours sincerely,

Darkbane,

Chief curse breaker at Gringotts.

.

.

.

"So what'd the letter have to say?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Apparently, I have to bring a few close friends to Gringotts for my appointment on the 28th of December. You know, for the ritual?" Harry said softly while pointing at his forehead, specifically where his scar was.

"Oh yeah, I remember that," Hermione answered with a nod. The others all nodded in understanding, save Mark who looked on curiously.

OOO

After Mark finished his breakfast, he walked towards Harry to start their conversation, only for Harry to gesture for him to follow. Hermione and all the other students had already left - only Harry and Mark remained at the Great Hall… which became empty when they left.

"So uhm," Mark said after a few minutes of following Harry. "Where are you bringing me, anyway?"

"Somewhere we can talk privately," Harry muttered, before stopping in a secluded area in the castle. He sat down, and gestured for Mark to do the same, which he did.

"I just… I don't know where to start. See, the thing is, I think we might be related to each other." Harry muttered. Mark looked up curiously.

"Related? How? I mean you are a Potter and I'm an Evans, unless…" Mark left the sentence hanging.

"My mother… Her name is, or was, Lily Evans. It's the same as your last name. Also, our eyes are the same shade of emerald green…" Harry answered.

"Lily Evans… That name sounds familiar, actually," Mark whispered to himself, deep in thought. A few moments of silence passed between them before mark smiled, a light of understanding coming to his eyes.

"I remember when I was very young, dad used to tell me stories about his cousins. One of them was Lily Evans. I think he said that she had red hair and emerald green eyes. He told me that she was a very compassionate person, very gentle, but she died on… Halloween 1981, I think it was? He visited her grave every year, at least he told me he did. When I got my Hogwarts letter, he told me that Lily was magical too and that she was muggleborn, just like me. He didn't mention you though he did say that her only son became an orphan because Lily and her husband were killed at the same day."

"That… sounds like my mum. Did he ever mention her husband's name?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Hmm… Yeah, he did, but I don't remember what… Jimmy, maybe? I guess I can confirm with him again if you want," Mark said, causing Harry to smile.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you," Harry said softly.

"You're welcome. It'd be nice if we are really related, you know? I always wanted an older brother. Being the eldest child, I don't really know how it is to have an older sibling, so if we are related you can be like my brother!" Mark said, his face breaking into a grin. Harry also started grinning.

"I always wanted a sibling myself, and I think you'd be a great younger brother," Harry said happily. "Even if we aren't related, you can always consider me as your brother, you know."

"Yeah, thanks Harry. I uhm… I wanted to talk to you because I want to tell dad and mum that you aren't a criminal child in St. Brutus or something… I mean they don't really believe that you are, since they knew you always helped me in school, but still. Before I told them though I thought I should tell you that I will do so," Mark whispered softly to Harry. Harry smiled, nodded, then shook Mark's hand as they left their separate ways, Harry going back to the Gryffindor common room while Mark going to explore the castle.

OOO

Orion and Hermione walked towards the library together, before Orion frowned and stopped.

"Erm, I forgot to take my textbooks with me. I'll go get them from the dorms, you go ahead to the library first," Orion said.

"OK then, Orion. Just remember that the library is just around that corner," Hermione said softly while pointing towards her right. Orion nodded, then started walking back to Gryffindor tower, almost bumping into Harry in the process.

"Woops, sorry Harry!" Orion mumbled.

"Orion? Weren't you going towards the library?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah, but I forgot to bring my textbooks. They're all in the-" Orion cut himself off when they heard a scream. Orion gazed around him, before frowning as Harry tensed and started running, Orion hot on his heels.

"Where are you going, Harry?" Orion asked curiously, not breaking stride as he ran behind his older friend.

"I left Mark somewhere near there after we talked since he said he wanted to explore the castle. That scream might have been his voice!" Harry answered, panic causing his voice to become louder than usual. Hearing that, Orion sped up his pace. When they rounded the corner towards where the scream sounded, they stopped dead in their tracks. There, they found Mark's shoulders being grabbed tightly by Crab, and Goyle standing menacingly next to him.

"Ya filthy little mudblood, ya shouldn't even be ere," Crab said as he squeezed Mark even harder than he already was, causing Mark to scream again. Goyle punched mark on the head as Crab kicked him, causing him to fly back and fall onto the ground. Harry growled, anger clear in his eyes. Orion's hair turned crimson.

"You better stop right now, Crab, Goyle. I won't let Mark be beaten up again by bullies like you. So stop, or else," Harry's voice caused the two of them to turn around and look at him with contempt.

"Or else what, Potter? There aint nothin' ya can do to us," Crab grunted, sounding bored. Goyle switched targets, trying to punch Harry, but he dodged out of the way. Crab tried to grab Orion who jumped away from his grasping hands, causing the larger student to fall due to momentum. Harry smirked slightly and taunted the two brutes. "What, that all you can do?"

The two Slytherin bullies cracked their knuckles and charged at Harry, who just sidestepped, causing both of them to fall on the ground. Orion, knowing that Harry was deliberately giving him and Mark the opportunity to escape, quickly ran to Mark's side and dragged the shell-shocked boy away with him to somewhere safer.

"You alright?" Orion asked, his hair slowly returning to its usual black colouring.

"Ye-yeah, Orion. You and Harry came at the nick of time," Mark said shakily. Orion was about to reply when Crab noticed them and charged. The young seer's reaction was almost too slow, but he managed to dodge again and sent Crab rolling on the ground with a punch, startling Mark with his strength. 'How did he even manage to make that guy role like that! He shouldn't even be able to make him flinch, judging by the size difference!' Mark thought and continued watching, his eyes wide with awe. Crab stood and tried to kick Orion, only for him to be tripped when Orion extended one leg forward. Goyle snuck behind Orion, causing Mark to scream a warning, but Orion barely even moved, until the last second where Orion jumped out of the way, causing his punch to strike Crab instead. The two started to argue, and that's when Harry, Orion and Mark ran away.

"How… How did both of you?" Mark muttered, eyes wide in awe.

"Martial arts," Orion answered with a smile. "We have been training since July."

"I want to train too. I have been bullied so much without a way to retaliate or stand up for myself…" Mark muttered.

"Speaking of which, what did Harry mean when he said he doesn't want you to be beaten up again?" Orion asked curiously.

"My cousin, Dudley, is kind of a bully. He bullied me and all the other kids in the neighbourhood, and Mark just so happened to be one of his victims," Harry said softly.

Orion just nodded in understanding. "I pity you, Mark. If you really want to train I guess we could teach you. That, or we could always ask our teachers," Orion said with a grin, causing Mark to hug him in happiness.

They continued their walk towards Gryffindor Tower (Mark decided not to explore alone since it was just too dangerous, and decided to go to the library as well). On the way, Mark questioned Harry and Orion about what Crab had said, about him being a mudblood and all. Orion's hair turned slightly crimson again.

"That's a derogatory term used by pureblood fanatics to insult muggleborns. To them, muggleborns don't deserve to learn magic and their powers were actually stolen. Muggles don't even deserve to live because the purebloods think that they are weaklings. Some of them thought that muggleborns, halfbloods, muggles and squibs - that's to say non-magic folk born to wizards - should be their slaves," Harry explained.

"Oh… So do you guys?" Mark, again, left the sentence hanging.

"Nope, we aren't like those fanatics. We view everyone as equals. Magic or not, we are all humans. To be completely honest with you, there are no purebloods in this world because at one point or another, wizards had reproduced and married with muggles. Heh, Merlin himself was muggleborn, and many of the wizarding families today sprang from muggle families anyway," Orion muttered, causing Mark to frown in deep thought. A few moments later he just nodded in understanding, and smiled. "I'm glad not everyone's like that," Mark muttered. Harry and Orion just smiled at him and continued walking to the dormitories.

They have already reached the 7th floor and had only a ways to go before arriving at Gryffindor Tower when Orion tensed, his eyes turning dull. Mark looked up with a frown. "What's up?" He asked, but got no answer from his friend.

"Don't worry about it Mark," Harry muttered, but his own insides clenched in worry. He knew the signs that a seer was about to speak a prophecy. Soon enough, Orion spoke, his voice layered with dozens of others.

"It shall happen on the night when the 10th month dies and the 11th begins… The sanctuary shall be broken and become unsafe, as the 13 unite together to achieve a common goal… The vanquisher and he who has the eye shall be taken from the broken sanctuary, and brought to the dark one… They shall not escape torture and suffering unless and until one of the taken make a sacrifice…"

Orion's eyes became clear once more as he blinked a few times, as if trying to regain focus after being disorientated.

"Oh, man…" Orion muttered (his voice becoming normal) while gazing over at Harry, who looked pale. "What did I say this time?"

"I'll tell you later, but for now, I think you might have to tell Mark earlier than expected since he saw it directly with his own eyes…" Harry said shakily.

"Tell me what now?" Mark asked, curiously and with not a little bit of dread.

"Mark… What you saw was me giving a prophecy. You see, I am what people call a seer, someone with abilities that allow them to see into the future and become a messenger of what people believe to be Gods. We see and we listen to things from other timelines and other realms, then relay it back to others. Most of the time I could control my own seeing but prophecies are different in that they are a kind of knowledge forced upon you… The crystal I meditated with helps me to see better and aid me in controlling my inner eye - an additional eye that only seers have," Orion explained. Mark frowned for a moment, trying to process everything, before speaking.

"OK… but why did you intend to hide that ability from me?" Mark inquired.

"Sorry. It's just… There are people who are trying to capture me to force me to tell them something related to them and their defeat. I have that knowledge but can never reveal it to the person because the Gods deny me from doing so. If more people know about my abilities, the person who tries to capture me will have more possibilities of knowing where I am or using people I love against me," Orion muttered. "Enough of that though, what did I just prophesize? I know I said something but no matter how hard I try to remember, the words just slip through and fade from my mind…"

"Well, you said that something will happen at the night when the 10th month dies and the 11th begins. I assume that means Halloween since that's the last day of October. Your wording seems to suggest that whatever that will happen, will happen between Halloween night and midnight of November. You then said something about the sanctuary being broken and unsafe when the 13 unite to achieve a goal, which I have completely no clue about. Then you mentioned the vanquisher and he who has the eye being taken and brought to the dark one, which probably means that… I will be captured alongside someone else… maybe even you if I interpret the part about he who has the eye correctly… and brought to Voldemort," Orion flinched at that. Harry continued, still looking pale. "You then talked about the taken being unable to escape torture and suffering unless one makes a sacrifice…"

Mark shuddered and started paling himself. "Are… are prophecies always accurate?" Mark asked with slight hope and fear.

"They might be… Usually they are," Orion muttered. Dread started to fill all of them as they quickly ran towards the Gryffindor common room, grabbed their books and ran back towards the library, wanting to tell Hermione about what just happened.

At that time, somewhere else, in a realm completely different than where Harry and friends are, there stood multiple beings of light, some miniature, others as large as giants or even mountains. They all gazed downwards, towards a familiar little realm - the realm of the mortals. Silence filled the place for a moment, before anyone spoke.

"You truly wish for the vanquisher and the other child to know their own unfortunate fate?" one of the beings, a small humanoid with flaming wings, spoke up.

"I do not want them to be blindsided later. Even though this may fill them with dread, this will help them to know what they need to do next," a giant, wearing a huge watch on his wrist and a chain full of timekeeping devices on his belt, replied.

"Cronos… Fate has been cruel enough to those two as it is, especially the vanquisher, there's no need for them to actually know how cruel!" the first being said again.

"It has already been done. They already know. I could easily reverse time and make sure they don't, but they deserve to know. Or would you rather they be blindsided and not realize that one of them should make a sacrifice for them both to escape?" Cronos growled out, and flicked one of his enormous fingers, causing a flash-forward scene to play out. In the scene, a child was drawing something with his blood and charging it with massive amounts of energy, which caused a portal to open thus allowing him and another human (with green eyes and unruly black hair) to escape from a dark prison-like cell and arrive in the living room of an extremely well-protected house. Many other humans converged on the two of them, as the child suddenly fell on the ground from his kneeling position, unconscious but still living, his face looking peaceful. Cronos flicked his finger again, causing the scene to change. Where the child still looked healthy albeit injured in the earlier scene, he now looked pale and shaken, with the other human beside him in a dark cell, dead. Dark circles were under the child's eyes, and he looked extremely exhausted. He then shuddered, exhaled a shaky breath, and collapsed, unmoving and lifeless.

"You would want the first timeline to play out, would you not? I cannot change the fact that the dark one will try to capture them, as I govern over time and prophecies, not decisions of humans which are made by their own minds. However, I can try and help them indirectly so they could face the difficulties that may come, by giving them knowledge of what could be future events," Cronos' voice boomed out with finality. The other beings stared at him, before nodding slightly. A figure wearing all black and wielding a scythe (which was glowing avada kedavra green), spoke up.

"Voldemort's actions completely ruined the balance between life and death. We all know the consequences of that. I, for one, would prefer the first timeline Cronos showed us instead of the second, because if the second timeline occurs, two more lives would end sooner than they would have, and the life-and-death balance would be upset even more." He sighed, then continued in a somewhat annoyed tone. "I always curse the fact that Gods cannot intervene directly in Mortal afares, otherwise I'd smite Voldemort down myself, if only to end his constant death-causing acts! Ending that one life would be the first step to restore the balance!"

"We cannot interfere… We can only observe them," Cronos said in a softer tone than before. The other Gods just nodded, sighed, and continued looking down. 'Good luck to you… Harry Potter and friends.'

A/N: for those of you who think that the Gods are going to make this fanfic way too op or anything, rest assured it won't happen. The gods are only here to observe - they won't take part in the war, or anything like that. Now to explain the inconsistency (Death and Cronos saying that they can't interfere while Cronos himself actually being the one giving Orion the prophecy), in this AU, Cronos is also the god of seers and prophecies (after all, seers gaze at events that haven't happened yet, kind of like gazing through time itself), so he can interfere indirectly by giving prophecies to seers but not interfere directly by, for instance, reversing time and repairing all the problems Voldemort caused. That is why Death cannot interfere directly - otherwise Harry wouldn't need to kill Voldemort. Its Godly law that a God cannot interfere directly in the mortal realm no matter how hard they try. When Cronos talked about not being able to change human decisions… no matter what timeline Harry and the others are in, Voldemort has decided (or will decide) to capture Harry and he who has the eye. Let's just pretend that timelines have changed and Snape tries to convince Voldemort to not capture them or delay his plan… Can you honestly imagine Voldemort delaying stuff like that? He's way too excited. Even in other timelines where Harry and the other one are relocated somewhere… Voldemort would've figured out where they are kept and captured them regardless - he's too determined. Even if Harry and friends didn't know about the prophecy, Voldemort would still capture them because he decided to. A timeline where Voldemort dies before Halloween (thus causing the event of Harry and the other being captured to be null) simply cannot occur without direct interference from the Gods because Harry isn't completely prepared to kill him yet, and they need time to find and destroy the horcruxes first before Voldemort can die (not to mention, the horcrux in Harry is only destroyed on the 28th of December). Even if the goblins change the ritual date to be before Halloween, in this AU, (spoiler alert) Voldemort hides his horcruxes more securely and in harder-to-reach places after he realises the light side are already (or will be) hunting for them. Hope this clarifies stuff. If the majority of you think that the Gods don't fit in this fanfic, I will remove them. Until next time!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I would like to thank everyone sincerely for your reviews. I had corrected a few chapters, as I have noticed (with help from guest reviews, Friedrickson2 and Teachergirl) that I have made quite a lot of mistakes.

In answer to Teachergirl's review of chapter 3 (do you mean for Hermione to so annoying to Harry?): I did mean for her to be that way. After all, she did not have enough sleep the previous night (as stated at an earlier part of the chapter, before Harry came into the great hall). Also, she was worried about her family due to her status as being muggleborn, so that added to her stress.

your reviews are very helpful to me. If you have opinions of where the story should go or about anything in it, please share it with me in the reviews or via PM. Thanks again everyone, and keep the ideas and/or corrections coming! And now, onward to the chapter!

Chapter 13: memories of doom

Mark, Orion and Harry were completely out of breath as they reached the library, Mark more so than his two friends due to his lack of rigorous training regimens. They slowed their pace as they entered the library, Madam Pince glaring at them as their running and gasping had effectively disturbed other students studying there (though there were very few at that particular time). Hermione looked up from her book at the sound of her friends, and raised her eyebrows as she saw them collapsing on the ground tiredly, a look of fear on their faces.

"So, were you guys exercising or running from something scary? And why's Mark with you? Not that I'm complaining but I am just curious," Hermione said. Harry looked up tiredly, his face looking panicked for some reason.

"Long story short, after I talked to Mark I was going back to the dorms when I saw Orion, who forgot to take his books with him. We saw Mark being bullied by Crab and Goyle, and we helped him out of that. Mark decided not to explore by himself after that, and just as we continued walking towards the Gryffindor tower Orion made a prophecy…"

Hermione started frowning. "I guess I can assume that the prophecy was the cause of your panic?"

"Yes," Mark managed, even though he was still trying to catch his breath. "The prophecy went something like this… IT shall happen on the night when the 10th month dies and the 11th begins… The sanctuary shall be broken and become unsafe, as the 13 unite together to achieve a common goal… The vanquisher and he who has the eye shall be taken from the broken sanctuary, and brought to the dark one… They shall not escape torture and suffering unless and until one of the taken make a sacrifice…"

The proclamation sounded ominous, even though it wasn't Orion (with dull eyes, rigid posture and his voice layered with dozens of others) speaking it. Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, before she apparently put two and two together and started panicking like her friends. She was panicking only because she had done research, and now knew that even though divination was unreliable most of the time, prophecies have at least a grain of truth in them. There are ways to know if someone actually has the inner eye, and just by looking, Hermione knew that Orion was a real seer.

"If my interpretation is anywhere near correct, we'll have to talk to the adults about this," she spoke, her voice strained. With that, they gathered their books and bags (Hermione mostly gathered her books in her bag - the others had taken their book bags but haven't taken out any books to read yet), and started running (or walking quickly but tiredly in the case of Harry, Orion and Mark) towards Professor Dumbledore's office.

OOO

Dumbledore frowned. He had detected the mood (for lack of a better word) of Hogwarts change into an urgent and scary one. He wondered what caused the change, but he did not have long to ponder on it as the wards outside his office told him that Harry Potter, Orion Tonks, Hermione Granger and Mark Evans were heading up the staircase to his office. Before they could knock at the door, Dumbledore asked all of them to come in, a request which they followed.

"Lemon drop, anyone?" Dumbledore asked while pushing the bowl towards the students. All of them declined his offer, however. Seeing that, Dumbledore turned serious.

"So, what brings all of you here, and where are the Weasleys? They are usually at your company, no?" Dumbledore said, his tone light and kind as always despite the strange feeling that something bad might happen soon.

"We aren't sure, sir. We came here immediately after we got some information that we feel you should know immediately," Hermione answered the older man.

"Oh? Then please, do tell, in your own time of course," said Dumbledore.

"Orion made a prophecy today, a prophecy that's actually kinda scary. I'll give you my memories of it since that would be clearer than if I just told it to you. I just need to ask you to extract the memories since I don't really know how," Harry muttered. Dumbledore tensed slightly at the word prophecy, but tried to calm himself down. 'Why do I feel as though this is going to be bad?' he thought to himself, before drawing his wand and stepping closer to Harry.

"Here, Harry, just think about what you want to share and I will extract it from your mind," Dumbledore spoke. Harry nodded and said that he was ready, causing Dumbledore to raise his wand and tap it on Harry's head, holding it there for a moment. After a while, he removed the wand, and silvery memory substance hung from the wand until Dumbledore placed it into a small, conjured glass bottle. He then walked over to a cabinet to take the pensive out to look at the memories.

After he finished looking at it, Dumbledore looked much paler than before.

"I suppose your interpretations might be right, Harry. He who has the eye, who is probably Orion, Professor Trelawney or some other seer that we don't know, will be captured alongside you and brought to Voldemort on Halloween night. Voldemort will break into where you are, perhaps Hogwarts or somewhere else that's a sanctuary for both of you, then take you after the sanctuary has become unsafe. I think the 13 achieving a common goal business is related to the 13 Death Lords, a group of very strong and loyal Death Eaters serving as Voldemort's elite. Most of the 13 were captured before, including Bellatrix Lestrange, but I think Voldemort might free them soon. He would need stronger followers than what he already has right now if he wishes to succeed in his plans. But back to the topic at hand - As for one of you having to make a sacrifice to escape torture and suffering… I have no idea."

"W-What can we do to prevent this prophecy from happening?" Mark asked, still unwilling to give up hope. 'This must all be just a lie or something. It's just a possible future…' he desperately wished that was the case. HE didn't want his possible brother and/or his friend to be taken away!

Before Dumbledore could reply, however, another voice interrupted.

"Prophecies can't usually be prevented from happening, I'm afraid. There were very few cases where prophecies were actually prevented from being fulfilled. So few, in fact, that it has become myth."

All of them looked up towards the direction of the voice, and spotted the portrait of a very old, brown-haired, green-eyed man, wearing robes dating back to at least the 16th century. The man was holding a crystal ball in his left hand and a wand made of what looked like silver lime in his right.

"I am sorry for eavesdropping and interrupting the conversation, but as it is, I may be able to help you all in this," he said again.

"Er… who are you, sir?" Ron asked.

"Ah, forgive me for not introducing myself first before speaking. I am Septimus Trelawney, the headmaster of Hogwarts from 1550 to 1595," the old man replied.

"Trelawney? That means you-" Harry said, but was cut off by Professor Dumbledore.

"Yes, indeed, he is related to your divination teacher. In fact, he was, to my knowledge, the first Trelawney to possess the inner eye."

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Orion and Mark all looked at each other, slightly surprised.

"I never knew we had a seer as a headmaster of Hogwarts before," Orion mumbled softly.

"I read about it, but I honestly didn't believe it… Well, many people claim to be seers but are actually faking, after all. I know there are ways to know if someone is a real seer or not, but since I never knew the previous Headmasters I can't say if he genuinely had the inner eye," Hermione muttered.

"Sadly, that is indeed the case, young miss, but I can humbly tell you that I am, indeed, a true seer. In fact, a few of the prophecies I made were recorded in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, and in the Headmasters' Record, a sort of diary that every Headmaster has to write in so that future Headmasters have a reference as to what happened before their time. The prophecies were rarely wrong," Septimus said.

"Now then, who and where is the seer named Orion, who made this prophecy?" he asked. The mentioned boy stepped forward timidly, closer to the portrait. He was a bit nervous, since this would be his first time meeting a fellow seer, and an ancient one at that.

"I-I am, sir. P-Pleased to meet you," the young boy knew that he was stuttering, but he simply couldn't help it, especially when images of the previous Headmaster and fellow seer teaching him something popped into his head.

"I am glad to meet you as well. You have no need to be so nervous, child. I simply wish to help in any way I can, particularly since seer magic has more to offer you than just simple future-gazing," Septimus said kindly.

"It… does?" Orion said in surprise and awe. 'How could I have never known? I mean, I did a lot of research on seers but none of the books mention more abilities that seers possess,' he thought to himself.

"Yes, but we'll talk about that later. For now, I will try to help you in interpreting the prophecy you made. To do this, I will need the help of your Professor Dumbledore."

Said professor stepped forward, curious what he could do to help.

"Albus, if you have read through the Headmasters' record, you will know that I have written down a spell to extract forgotten memories from seers. If you wish to understand the prophecy more, I think it may help if you extracted the prophecy directly from Orion's mind."

Dumbledore frowned, then nodded in understanding. He gazed at his hands for a moment, in deep thought, before drawing out his wand.

"If you are ready, Mr. Tonks?" Dumbledore said softly. Orion looked nervous, but nodded. The current Headmaster then waved his wand around Orion's forehead in a complicated pattern as he whispered an incantation, one that sent shivers down the spine of all the students there. They shivered not out of fear, but because of the feeling of a strange kind of magic in the air.

After a few moments of chanting and waving his wand, Dumbledore tapped his now glowing wand on Orion's head, the strange magical feeling still thick around them. Orion shuddered. His eyes dulled, as though he was about to make a prophecy, but he did not speak. Instead, he just stood there silently, as if waiting for the Headmaster to finish. Dumbledore finally removed his wand after 30 seconds or so of holding it on the child's head, as Orion's eyes became normal once again. The strange magical feeling around them faded away.

As the wand was removed, they could all see the silvery memory substance hanging at its tip, but strangely, the substance looked more transparent than normal memories did. It was fading away right before their eyes, as though evaporating, much like how Orion's memories of prophecies he made, fading from his mind. Before it could fade too much, Dumbledore quickly placed the memories in a glass vial, waved his wand in the air to gather the faded strands of memories, placed them in alongside the other strands, and sealed it with one sharp flick of the wand.

"I cannot place this memory in a pensieve, as it will just continue vanishing. I can only project them outwards from the vial, but I must warn you that the memory will not be as clear as normal memories are. That's the nature of a seer's memories of the prophecies he made, unfortunately," Dumbledore said, then tapped his wand on the vial in his hand.

The first image projected was of nighttime, in an unclear location. The image was so blurry that the only things they can make out were the moon and stars. In the darkness, a voice whispered, " IT shall happen on the night when the 10th month dies and the 11th begins…"

The scene shifted violently, showing wood and glass shards everywhere, and bright, flashing lights that they can only assume to be spells being fired. They could hear screams, but they sounded muted, muffled and incomprehensible. " The sanctuary shall be broken and become unsafe, as the 13 unite together to achieve a common goal…" the strange voice whispered again.

The scene shifted once more, this time showing two blurry shapes being carried away by many others. Loud, anguished screams can be heard, but Dumbledore and the others couldn't make out who were shouting. They tried to look for the source of the screams, but found that they couldn't - the people in the image looked severely distorted and completely unrecognisable to them. The strange voice whispered again, this time saying, "The vanquisher and he who has the eye shall be taken from the broken sanctuary, and brought to the dark one…"

The two figures being carried away were harshly tossed down (or so they presumed, by a muted thud and what looked like two blurry things falling). Another extremely blurry figure appeared. The only thing they can actually pinpoint by looking at it was that it had two points of reddish… light? on its face (or so they thought). The figure seemed to speak, but the words were completely unintelligible. After a moment of silence the figure spoke again, but this time his tone was louder, angrier. Pained screams can be heard, but they sounded very distant and as if blocked by something. "The vanquisher and he who has the eye shall be taken from the broken sanctuary, and brought to the dark one…" was the whisper from the strange voice.

Another scene appeared, this one much, much more blurry than any of the previous scenes. Dumbledore and the others in his office could only see reddish blotches, before a violent but distant boom can be heard. The red blotches seem to glow, and the image flashed white. The strange voice whispered, "They shall not escape torture and suffering unless and until one of the taken make a sacrifice…" and with that the projection faded from the wall.

Dumbledore rubbed at his temple, trying to fight down the growing headache from looking at those blurry images. Looking around, he could see that the other teens fared no better.

"I… will need time to interpret this prophecy. I shall keep those memories for now, if you don't mind, Orion?" Dumbledore inquired, making the young boy nod slightly.

"For now, all of you should go back to your usual routines. You can do research to interpret the prophecy, but don't let it burden you too much. After all, you will only get yourself extremely stressed if you have to worry about studies and dark prophecies at the same time."

The students nodded, preparing to leave the office, before Septimus spoke.

"Young Orion, please stay for a moment. Your friends can leave us, or wait outside for you."

"Can't they stay in here?" Orion asked curiously.

"I am sorry, but no. I am going to teach you more on seers magic, and this knowledge is forbidden to anyone who is not a seer. Besides, if this knowledge falls into the wrong hands, it may get seers into more danger than they already face."

"What dangers?" Orion asked with a frown.

"There are people who would hunt seers down for their knowledge of the future alone. Knowing that seers can do more than gaze into the future would make a seer even more… valuable, for lack of a better word," Septimus answered, his voice grave.

"Now then, if you would take your leave?" Septimus said while gazing at the other students save Orion. Hermione, Harry, Ron and Mark left the room, after telling Orion that they would wait for him in the library.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: guest: thank you for your opinions on Fudge. Though I don't feel I exaggerated Fudge's denial of Voldemort's return to the point where he becomes cartoonish, I know others might feel differently. IF you can give opinions on how to fix that (without having to modify the plot to the point where Lucius isn't minister - that's a plot point), it would be superb!

Also, there will be a timeskip in this chapter to Monday (I don't think a whole chapter on the other students waiting for Orion in the library would be nice). I intentionally left out what Orion learned as it is a plot hole I intend to fill in later.

Another A/N: This will most likely be the only chapter that I will post for a while. Exams end on the 23rd, so I can continue writing then. I know this chapter is short, but I suppose it's better than nothing. I'll make it up to you guys after the 23rd of November.

In the meantime, read, review, and enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 14: the start of studies.

-Timeskip two days, to Monday, September 4th-

Mark woke up with a groan. Yesterday, he had started to go through the training regimens that Orion and the others had went through, only to find out that it was extremely difficult. Well, for him anyway. Orion didn't manage to get their instructors to come that day, stating that they had other duties such as being a patrol auror and stuff to perform, and thus couldn't come to Hogwarts. However, that did not mean that Harry and the others didn't teach him stuff that they had learned. At the end of the day, Mark had said that it was difficult for him, only for Harry to smirk at him.

"We said the same to our instructors, but they continued to be relentless in training us. Trust me, it gets easier and easier as you go. It'll be difficult at first, but once it becomes easy you would gain quite a lot of satisfaction from the training," his second cousin said. .. And yes, Harry is his second cousin. He had written to his father on Saturday, and his father replied on Sunday morning stating that Lilly's husband was, indeed, James Potter.

After a while longer of reminiscing, Mark pulled himself out of bed and got ready to join Orion in his morning routine. Harry was right, of course - Mark had felt satisfied after the routine and meditation, even though it was still difficult for him. After the routine, they rushed back to their dorms, tidied themselves up for school, and went to the Great Hall, their stomachs eager to be filled.

Breakfast was pretty much the same as usual, except that today, Professor McGonagall was walking around the Gryffindor table, handing over timetables for the students. Orion took his from the professor with a mutter of thanks, before perusing it.

"Hmm, so we have charms first, and then defense…" Orion mumbled, still reading the timetable.

"Heh, we had it the other way round with defense first and then charms," Harry smirked. "What about you, Ginny?"

"Double potions…" Ginny muttered with a frown, causing the other fifth-year students to wince sympathetically.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, during which the students continued eating, Orion and Mark left the Great Hall to gather their books from the dormitories since they had finished eating. Even though there was still about 20 minutes left of breakfast, the two boys still left the hall without waiting for the others because they wanted to make sure that they had ample time to arrive in classes, just in case they got lost along the way.

OOO

Harry, Ron and Hermione walked together towards the Defense classroom, after getting their books from the dorms. Sitting down at their own chosen places, they waited silently for Professor Umbridge to arrive. They did not have to wait long, for after about 5 minutes, she had come in, wearing her ridiculous pink clothing. Harry wondered to himself whether the professor even had a sense of dignity, wearing pink clothes while teaching a group of students such a serious subject.

"Good morning class," Professor Umbridge said sweetly, causing the students to all mumble a greeting back to her. She glanced at all of them in disapproval, then said, "Now, that is hardly the right way to greet a professor, is it? When I say good morning class, you should reply with, good morning, Professor Umbridge."

"Good morning, Professor Umbridge," the students intoned. Harry frowned internally. 'She's a professor and deserves the respect appropriate to her station, but surely how we greet her isn't important as long as we do?' he thought.

"That's better, students! Now before we begin into our lesson, I would like to set a few rules that you should obey at all times while you are in my class," Umbridge said, after gesturing them to sit back down (as they had stood up when greeting her earlier).

"Firstly, any student who wishes to ask a question, or talk, must raise their hands and wait for my acknowledgement before you can do so.

"Secondly, I do not want my students doubting my abilities as a teacher, or the ministry's ability to help Hogwarts in hiring a good professor for Defense.

"Finally, you will mostly be studying the theory of Defense, as the Ministry of Magic has deemed that theory is enough and no practical studying is necessary as our world is in a state of peace right now, and I want all students to respect that.

"Failure in obeying or respecting any of the rules above will land you in detention."

She smiled sweetly at all the students. After pausing for a moment, she continued with, "Now please open your books and read chapter 1. I also want you to copy the chapter down so you would remember the theory in the chapter."

All of the students took out their textbooks and opened them to the indicated chapter. There was a rummaging for quills and parchment, but before any student could start writing a hand had shot up into the air. A hand that belonged to one Hermione Granger.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Umbridge acknowledged, her voice as sweet as always, though there was a slight lilt to it that unnerved Harry.

"Professor, I have read the chapter, and had already memorised the contents," Hermione spoke.

"Perhaps so, but I still want you to copy it down. After that, if you still have time, you can read and copy down chapter 2-" Umbridge was cut off by Hermione, who said, "I have read the whole book, and do not think that copying all those theories is necessary."

"You doubt my ability to give you the best lesson in Defense against the Dark Arts?" Umbridge said, her voice no longer as sweet as always. At that, Hermione started to stutter a bit.

"N-no, I don-" it was Hermione who was cut off this time by Umbridge.

"Well then, you should do as I ask. Frankly, I am quite appalled by the low quality of your lessons so far. TO my knowledge, Professor Quirell is probably the best Defense teacher you had, even though he taught with a stuttering voice, because he managed, eventually, to teach all of you the theories in the book. I have nothing to say about Professor Lockheart, but as for Professor Lupin…" Umbridge's voice had a disgusted tone to it now that caused Hermione, Ron and Harry to all growl softly to themselves. Harry lost control of his temper by that point and interrupted the professor without raising his hand.

"… was, is, and always will be our best Defense instructor because he taught us how to-"

"Do not interrupt me, Mr. Potter! Now as I was saying, Professor Lupin was a dark creature himself, and shouldn't even be teaching students-" Umbridge said, her voice completely lacking in the false sweetness now. Harry's eyes glowed red, but only Hermione and Ron noticed. Everyone, however, noticed how angry Harry was.

"Don't-You-Dare-Say-That-He-Is-Dark!" Harry shouted. Umbridge, however, was unperturbed by Harry's yell.

"Your defense books clearly state that werewolves are dark creatures-" she said, but Harry cut her off again.

"Only because people never let them have a chance of trying to be good! They consider all werewolves as evil without thinking about the fact that not all werewolves want to be this way or want to bite people!"

"Are you doubting my words, Mr. Potter?" Umbridge said, her voice soft but deathly cold this time.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do! IF you can't even differentiate between our best professor and pretty much the worst!" Harry's voice was like steel, but Umbridge was still unperturbed.

"Out of my class, now, Mr. Potter. And meet me at my office, at 8 PM sharp tonight for your detention. Failure to appear at that time will only enrage me further. You will still learn to be a good student even if you did not come to my office for your punishment," Umbridge said. Harry didn't reply, instead he just crammed his Defense book into his bag roughly, picked it up, and stormed out of there. As soon as Harry was out of the room Umbridge turned back into her old, sweet self again.

OOO

Orion smiled contentedly to himself. Charms class was so enjoyable even though they haven't started to practice any charms yet. He liked Professor Flitwick's amusing personality, and in his opinion, the professor was good at cracking jokes. Orion couldn't help but laugh softly, remembering Professor Flitwick's demonstration of a few of the basic charms. The professor had casted them on himself and a few students, and that made quite a show, with some of the girls having hair that cycled through the colours of the rainbow, some of the boys having clothes charmed to sparkle, and the professor having himself soaked in blue paint. The most hilarious was the charm on the teacher's table, which randomly spouted out puns and jokes throughout the lesson. It even made them from the names of a few students, himself included.

FLASHBACK

"So one man asked another, did you take Orion's belt? And the other man answered, how could I have? It's too big for me to pick up!"

END FLASHBACK

He remembered that joke well because he had not comprehended it at first and was about to say that he did not have a belt to begin with before he realised that the table was just making a joke with his name and the constellation. He had never been good with puns and stuff, after all. No one would've known about his momentary confusion and sudden realisation if not for his own face showing it clearly for the world to see. Though he was slightly embarrassed with his own inability to notice a joke aimed at himself, he still found the situation funny.

Orion stood up with the other students as Professor Umbridge entered the room, and muttered a good morning along with the others, only for all of them to be reprimanded and asked to say "good morning, Professor Umbridge," instead. Orion grimaced as a vision of the professor appeared in his mind. In that vision, the professor was putting down a sharp quill on a table while smiling sweetly. The next vision showed a boy sitting at the table, blood pouring out of his hand as he wrote something using that quill. Orion shuddered. 'What could those visions mean, and who is that boy?'

He did not have long to ponder on the situation as the professor instructed them to read chapter 1 of their books, after setting a few rules that must be followed at all times during her lesson, namely the rule about raising a hand and waiting for acknowledgement before speaking, the rule to not doubt her teaching capabilities or the ministry, and the rule to not wonder why they will study theory for the most part as the Ministry considered practical knowledge as unneeded at this time. Orion sighed to himself. 'Well, I was kind of wanting to learn and practice some spells to defend myself if anything happens…' he thought disappointedly. Shrugging, he continued studying chapter 1 of the books. He didn't notice the professor looking at him for most of the lesson as he was trying to focus his full attention on the books without gazing at anything else and showing his boredom with the far-too-simple theories. Just then, another vision struck him, causing Orion to grimace once more as he saw a small figure holding something sharp in his right hand and using it to slice open the skin on the back of his left hand with precise strokes while flinching in pain. He then saw a sharp black quill - one that looked remarkably similar to the quill in his earlier vision about the other boy - being placed over the wound while the small figure muttered something over it.

'So this is what…' Orion thought to himself, as his expression turned into a deep frown.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: sorry for not updating for so long. Exams ended on the 23rd of November, and I had to get myself back into the mood of writing, in a way.

Guest: yes, Harry did have supportive and trusting friends. What I meant with "more supportive and trusting friends" was him having more friends who trust and support him, not friends who trust him more or something. That said, I am also going to make Hermione and the others trust him more as well (you are likely to see this in later chapters) compared to when they were in cannon (5th and 6th book particularly). In the near future, Harry is going to have one hell of an experience that will make him more mature and less of a jerk/temperamental person as in cannon.

Recap: I left you guys for a long time, so some of you might have already forgotten how far we went in the story, ,so I am going to give a short summary. Crouch Jr was given veritaserum in time before dementors kissed him, Fudge didn't believe him and tried to kill him still, and Dumbledore managed to prevent that. Harry saw a vision through his scar of Voldemort's plans to ruin Hogwarts and with Dumbledore's help, was sent to the Wizengamott for a sort of confession where Harry revealed all his memories about Voldemort, Hagrid's innocence, Sirius etc. With Crouch Jr confessing everything including the fact that Peter Pettigrew is alive (and with Harry's memories proving that point as well), Sirius was sent for trial again and deemed innocent. Fudge was sacked after Dumbledore revealed his treachery (attempting to kill Crouch Jr both before and after evidence is obtained). After an election, Lucius Malfoy (of all people) was chosen to be Minister of Magic. Draco and Narcissa meanwhile was revealed to have a compulsion placed on them by Lucius, and upon its removal, Narcissa decided to join OotP while Draco became friends with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the other Weasleys and Orion (younger brother of Nimphadora Tonks who is also a seer). A prophecy about Voldemort trying to capture "the vanquisher" and "he who as the eye" was made, and the order starts preparing to interpret the prophecy and to plan for any possibilities. In charms class, Orion saw visions of a boy being tortured with a black quill, and another vision of a smaller figure slicing the back of his hand open with precise strokes while placing the black quill from the previous vision against his bleeding hand.

Now after that long A/N, onward we go to the next chapter!

Chapter 15: Orion's decision.

Time seemed to fly by pretty quickly for Harry and his friends, as lunch was finally here. Ron, as usual, stuffed his face full of food while Hermione ate in a slower pace while chastising the redhead when she did not have food in her mouth to slow down and not talk while his mouth was full of food. Mark, Ginny and Harry just smiled while they had their own meals, talking about the day and other various topics. Orion, however, ate very little and was, for the most part, pushing around the food on his plate with his fork.

"So how was your day, Orion?" Harry asked, startling Orion who was obviously not expecting the question, as deep in thought as he was.

"It's OK. Charms was kinda fun, since Professor Flitwick showed us quite a lot of interesting magic. He even made the table speak and let it be able to tell jokes!" Orion said with a smile. Harry frowned, seeing that the smile on the first year's face looked forced.

"What's wrong? You look unhappy," Harry inquired, face still set in a slight frown.

"Nothing" Orion shot back too quickly, causing Harry and the others (who have overheard Harry's question earlier) to stare at the young boy in suspicion and concern. Orion sighed.

"Fine… It's just… My visions are kind of getting worse over time," he muttered, while silently adding, 'and I saw myself cutting my own hand for some reason…' in his own head. He didn't want to reveal this to the others, as it would only worry them further.

"I think you're too worked up over this. You should probably follow Dumbledore's advice and calm down, otherwise you'll only be adding to your own stress," Ginny advised in a soothing voice. Ginny had been told about the prophecy and their interpretations earlier by Ron, who whispered everything to her while they were eating.

"Maybe," Orion mumbled distractedly, still playing with his food.

"And you also have to eat, otherwise you will have no energy to do anything later," Hermione spoke next, gesturing to Orion's plate which was still about three-quarters full. Said boy shrugged, nodded, and ate his food, but he did not even manage to finish the small portion he placed on his plate earlier, making the others worry even further.

OOO

Orion and Mark walked back to the Gryffindor common room after their last lesson for the day, which was potions. Mark was still worried about his fellow roommate and classmate, who hadn't spoken much during the lessons. Orion had only spoken to answer questions from teachers, and even then, only when the teachers asked him directly. Sure, Mark knew that Orion wasn't a chatterbox, but he was too quiet even compared to usual. That was not to say that Orion didn't pay attention in class - in fact, he was one of the most attentive, but also the most quiet. Occasionally Mark could see his friend flinch in his seat, as though he was seeing something horrid.

"So what are you going to do before dinner?" Mark's questioning tone snapped Orion out of his deep thought.

"Dunno. I want to be alone for a while, if you don't mind," Orion muttered, causing the green-eyed boy beside him to frown.

"Aren't you going to do homework?"

"I will do them after dinner," answered Orion.

Just as they entered the common room, Harry gestured Orion over to where he was. Ron was nowhere to be found, probably in the 5th year boys' dorm. After Orion went over and sat beside Harry, the older boy spoke, his voice serious and laced with concern.

"OK, I don't want you to think that I'm forcing you to do anything, or demanding anything, but I know that you are hiding something about your visions from us."

"So what if I am?" Orion asked, SUDDENLY sounding DEFENSIVE.

"You don't have to tell me what it is, but please, consider telling an adult or something. Like Ginny and Dumbledore said, you can't always pressure yourself like this."

Orion let out a long sigh. "I saw… many things. One of those visions was of a boy, who was sitting near Professor Umbridge and writing something with a black quill that the professor had placed on the table. Blood was trickling out from the back of the boy's hand, as the words written on the paper were carved into the boy's hand as well…" the young boy shuddered, his blue eyes looking haunted. Harry frowned, expecting Orion to continue but when he didn't, he decided to speak.

"Thanks for telling me about one of the visions. I know you are hiding something else from me, but I won't press you on it. After all, telling me about one of the visions already lightened some of your burden, didn't it?"

Orion's lips twitched up slightly, as if he was attempting to smile, and nodded. "It did, a bit. Thanks, Harry."

"I can still see that you are stressed, but I'm glad I can help. I know what you have been hiding must be pretty serious, otherwise you wouldn't try to hide it, but please, do think about telling someone about it. I don't care if it isn't me. Heck, one of the adults could probably help you better than I can," Harry said, then squeezed Orion's tiny hand gently. Orion hesitated, but after a while he said, "I might tell someone later. I… need help with this, anyway."

"Good. Well, that's all I wanted to talk to you about. I have some work to do, so see you later." Saying that, Harry left the Gryffindor common room and went up to the fifth-years dorm.

OOO

Orion thought long and hard about his other visions. He tried to not think too much about them, as Harry suggested earlier, but he just couldn't. Knowing that his visions have something to do with the earlier prophecy about the capture of the vanquisher and he-who-has-the-eye on Halloween made it even more difficult to not think about. He had thought about telling an adult about his visions, probably Remus since he was the one that taught Orion about runes and those visions had something to do with them but what would he say? Or what would he write in a letter? He didn't quite know. He had also thought of using telepathy to contact Remus at night when he was about to sleep, but that would probably disturb his sleep and leave him quite tired the next morning. Another problem he faced was the probable interception of any letters or communications he sent, since rumour has it that Professor Umbridge was checking posts in and out from Hogwarts, apparently to "make sure that no students joined the ranks of Death Eaters". Orion scoffed at that. It was more likely that the professor was checking posts to make sure no student either mentioned You-Know-Who, or the Ministry's involvement in Hogwarts, or anything like that. Orion sighed. The only way he was confident with to contact Remus was via telepathy, but even that can be intercepted by an expert legilimens. Regardless, he needed help with the visions, so he mentally prepped himself for what he was about to do, and meditated for a while to clear his mind.

After meditating for about 20 minutes (he needed that long because he wasn't used to contacting someone from such a distance away via telepathy yet), he held his crystal ball in his hand, and started to sift through the mental energies of people familiar to him in search of Remus. Finding it not long after, he connected his mental energy to Remus' and started trying to send telepathic messages.

*Professor Lupin, are you there? It's Orion, and I need to talk to you* Orion had sent. At first it seemed as though it wasn't working, but after Orion sent a second *hello* he got an affirmative response.

*I don't know if it is really you. You'll have to prove yourself before we continue talking* Remus telepathically replied. Orion thought for a moment, before responding.

*The first time you taught me runes, when I tried to create a defensive barrier the whole network failed and exploded because I wrote the symbol for power instead of the symbol for defense, which was almost similar to one another. The only difference was the location of the diagonal line; "power" having it on the left while "defense" having it on the right of the symbol* Orion answered.

*Hmm… That incident would only be known by you and me, so I trust you. What is it do you need and why have you contacted me?*

Orion hesitated, causing the mental connection to temporarily waver.

*I needed… to ask you about…* Orion frowned to himself as he felt the link almost break. He managed to mentally whisper the word *blood runes* before the connection broke. Orion sighed, took a few deep breaths, and refocused, attempting to reconnect with Remus, which took a few minutes.

*Orion? You still here?*

*Yeah Professor Lupin. Sorry about the break in our link earlier.*

*It's alright, but I still need to know something. Why did you ask about blood runes? They're extremely dangerous, you know,* Remus inquired.

*I had a few visions. I think I'll share it with you telepathically, that'd be easier than me explaining them to you* Orion muttered through the link he had with Professor Lupin, then thought back on the visions he saw earlier in the day, which resulted in them being sent to the professor's mind as well. A long moment of silence passed after the visions ended before Professor Lupin responded.

*Sorry Orion, but I can't help you in this. Blood runes are extremely dangerous, particularly for you. Seer's blood is valuable, especially to people like Voldemort who wanted power. You know that. I'd encourage you to find another way.*

*I've sifted through the alternate timelines that I can, but they either end in the escape of the vanquisher and I through the runes, or they end in both of us dead.*

*What do you mean by alternate timelines? Also why did you mention "both of us"? You aren't even in the visions!*

*But I am, Professor. That small figure you've seen carving runes onto his hand… As for the alternate timeline comment… it… it's a secret that I can't tell you about yet.*

*I don't think that small figure is you-*

*Who else would fit? The only living seers we know of at Hogwarts are Professor Trelawney and I. We are the only two You-Know-Who can get his hands on, and the figures in both my visions show that they are definitely smaller than Professor Trelawney.*

*The visions are blurry. You might have seen Professor Trelawney but didn't know about it.*

*Look at the runes, Professor. Harry doesn't know the runes, and I'm sure he was the vanquisher so that only leaves he-who-has-the-eye as the possible candidate for the person carving the runes.*

*But the he-who-has-the-eye could be referring to another child seer from somewhere else who knew how to use runes.*

Orion growled to himself. He knew the professor might be right, but still.

*Just in case it was me, don't you think I should learn about the runes?*

*… I can't help you beyond telling you that these runes are borderline illegal. Books about them can likely be found somewhere that sells illegal stuff.*

*Why won't you teach me? It might be borderline illegal but it isn't actually illegal is it?*

*Because Orion, I don't know the runes myself. They look to be in a completely different language than what I have been teaching you. Just use the portal rune network I taught you earlier during the summer.*

*I might, but I'm afraid… What if the prison had anti-magic wards around? Blood runes are the only things I know that can work through those wards because they utilize a completely different type of energy, one that most wizards ignore because it isn't magic.* Orion's mental voice showed signs of definite fear that time. If there were people in the common room at this particular moment, they would've seen Orion shudder.

*Voldemort isn't "most wizards" though* Orion flinched at Professor Lupin's casual mention of the dark lord's name, but quickly shrugged it off.

*HE might still have ignored that kind of energy, though. Won't you just help me? Find someone that can? * Orion could feel the professor hesitating before he answered.

*I'll have to think about it. I'll get back to you in a few days.*

*I guess that's all I can ask for. It's better than nothing at least… Meanwhile, I'll do more research on it when I can, see if there are any alternative ways or something. Thanks professor.* Orion muttered.

*I am not making any promises though, you hear? I'll try my best, but still.*

*I know, professor. Just try to keep it as secretive as you can, please? We don't want death eaters and other people with bad intentions to know about this.*

*Yeah… Alright. I'll see what I can do in the meantime. Bye for now.*

*Bye and thanks again professor.* Orion managed to say before the connection cut off completely. He really hoped the professor could help him, but even if he couldn't, Orion had made his decision. He'd live through this with Harry no matter what sacrifices he had to make. Even if it means giving his blood to whatever rituals awaited. Even if it meant that he had to overcome his phobia of sharp objects in order to carve the runes into his skin. He'd live, and he'd make sure that Harry lived as well, after the ordeal. He had to, as the future of the wizarding world and probably even the whole world was at stake.

OOO

That night, after dinner, Harry returned to the common room, only to take his book bag and leave immediately afterwards. Mark, who saw his older second cousin walking towards the portrait to get out of the Gryffindor common room, became curious.

"Where are you going so late at night, Harry?" Mark inquired. Harry continued walking without turning around, but replied to Mark's question anyway.

"Detention with Umbridge," he said, and left through the portrait hole right after. Orion, who was doing his homework, flinched a bit as his first vision about someone writing with a quill Professor Umbridge gave him and having the words forcefully etched into his hands flashed through his mind.

Harry walked through the halls of Hogwarts, towards the Defense against the Dark Arts Professor's office. He was very familiar with the route to that office, since he had been there for quite a few times now, when Professor Lupin and the fake Professor Moody was teaching. After about 5 minutes, he knocked at the office door, and promptly heard a "come in" from inside. Wasting no time, Harry opened the door, walked in while saying a "good evening, Professor Umbridge", put his book bag down near one of the tables in the professor's office, and promptly sat down when asked to.

Harry looked around the office. Pictures upon pictures of kittens and cats decorated the walls of the office, with no portion of the wall left undecorated with them. Most of the pictures could even let out meows, and for some reason the sound of those cats in the pictures made Harry a tad annoyed. There were also a few plates, with images of pink kittens on them, laying on another table. The toad-like professor who was sitting in her chair now looked like a mix between a pink cat, a toad and a human, with her ridiculous pink cat girl outfit replacing her earlier pink clothes. She looked quite revolting, to the point where Harry actually cringed lightly when he saw her.

"Right on time, Mr. Potter," Umbridge's fake sweet voice can be heard saying while she craned her short neck slightly to look at the boy sitting at the other table.

"Now, this is what I will have you do… I have placed a quill on the table in front of you, as you can see, and I would like you to write 'I must not doubt my professor's words and teaching ability' on the parchment next to the quill," the toad-like woman instructed.

"You haven't given me any ink, professor," Harry said neutrally.

"Oh, you wouldn't need any ink, trust me." Umbridge's sweet voice became, if possible, even sweeter and even more obviously fake, as her face contorted into a smug smirk that looked out of place on her. Harry shrugged, and began to write.

'I must not doubt my professor's words and teaching ability'

As soon as those words were written out, a sharp pain shot through Harry's right hand. Harry barely managed to control himself from flinching, and looked immediately at his right hand. There, etched right on the back of his hand, were the vary words he wrote on the parchment, with his own handwriting. He looked at the parchment, and saw that the words on there were written in red ink…no… not red ink. It was blood. His blood. Harry suddenly remembered what Orion had told him earlier.

FLASHBACK

"I saw… many things. One of those visions was of a boy, who was sitting near Professor Umbridge and writing something with a black quill that the professor had placed on the table. Blood was trickling out from the back of the boy's hand, as the words written on the paper were carved into the boy's hand as well…"

END FLASHBACK

Harry growled internally. 'So that was what Orion saw…' he suddenly felt pity for the young seer, who had witnessed such horrors at the tender age of 11. He shrugged, there was nothing that he can do right now, except continue writing.

'I must not doubt my professor's words and teaching ability'

'I must not doubt my professor's words and teaching ability'

'I must not doubt my professor's words and teaching ability'

'I must not doubt my professor's words and teaching ability'

'I must not doubt my professor's words and teaching ability'

Harry could barely control himself from flinching and/or screaming in pain now, it was so intense. His blood was trickling out of the back of his right hand, as he continued writing. He had thought about switching to his left hand, but he couldn't write with his left hand at all, and didn't really want Umbridge to find reason to force him to write more lines because his handwriting was poor. He had occasionally let out soft hisses of pain, and at those times he would see Umbridge's eyes land on him, her smirk growing into a smile which grew and grew the more he wrote and the more blood trickled out.

"Something wrong, Mr. Potter?" Umbridge asked in obviously fake concern.

"No, Professor Umbridge," Harry answered, keeping his expression as neutral as he could.

"Well then, do continue writing, as I haven't asked you to stop yet," Umbridge said, her last part of the statement actually sounding cold instead of sweet. Harry didn't even nod. He just continued to write the "lines" the toad-like woman gave him.

After about two whole hours of writing, Umbridge finally allowed Harry to stop. Harry let off an internal sigh of relief, but it his relief was not to be for long.

"Let me see your hand, Potter," Umbridge commanded. Harry simply raised his right hand to let the vile woman look at the marks on the back of it, which was probably going to scar. After a moment of examination Umbridge spoke again.

"Good progress so far. I'll expect you tomorrow at the same time as well. We'll have this detention… ahem… let's say until the message sinks in."

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," Harry said, still keeping his expression neutral. He would not let the professor see his anger, his grief, his rage, and any of his other emotions, which were bubbling up internally. He left the office after taking his book bag (which lay untouched for the whole time of his detentions) and closed the door lightly, forcing himself not to slam it with his full strength. He quickly walked towards the Gryffindor common room to get the blood and the wound cleaned as soon as he can. When he entered the common room, however, things weren't as he expected. It wasn't empty yet, even though it was well past curfew.

"…So what he saw was true, then," Hermione demanded while looking at Harry.

"Who was he and what did he say?" Harry asked back, pretending not to know what Hermione was talking about, despite the fact that he actually had a good guess as to what was on his friend's mind.

"Let me look at your right hand," the bushy-haired girl said, her tone stern.

"Why?" Harry tried to avoid letting Hermione see the words on the back of his hand. Hermione glared at him.

"Because, Orion mentioned seeing a vision about a certain boy who wrote with a quill that Professor Umbridge gave him without using any ink, and instead using his own blood, and having the words forcefully etched on the back of his right hand. Now let me see your hand," Hermione said again. With no way out of the situation without letting her see his hand, Harry complied. Hermione tutted over the words on Harry's hand for a moment, before moving around the common room, as if preparing something.

"'I must not doubt my professor's words and teaching ability. Gosh, how could we not doubt her after this?" Hermione very nearly screamed, but managed to stop herself after looking over at one of the couches. There, asleep with his potions book still open, was Orion, and next to him lay Ron, who was similarly asleep, but with his transfiguration text instead. Even though Hermione controlled her voice, Orion and Ron still woke up. The two boys rubbed at their eyes for a moment, before looking up.

"Harry?" Orion said groggily, still half asleep. Harry looked over at his young friend, who gazed at him in concern.

"You ok?" Orion slurred out.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"M sory for not telling you that the boy in m visions is you," Orion said while struggling to have his eyes remain open.

"It's not your fault, Orion, please stop blaming yourself," Harry said quickly, trying to alleviate the guilt he could see on the younger boy's face. Orion only smiled, before sleep reclaimed him. It was then that Hermione placed a bowl on the table with some sort of liquid inside it, and used a cotton ball to start cleaning the blood from Harry's wound.

"What's that stuff?" Harry asked softly.

"Essence of mertlap. I mixed it immediately after Orion told me about his visions," Hermione replied. "This might sting a bit."

Hermione dipped another cotton ball into the bowl and applied it to the back of Harry's hand. He flinched as the liquid made his wounds sting, but didn't comment as he saw that his wounds from the quill was slowly starting to heal. The raw and tender skin on and around the wound was slightly less red now, and was visibly fading back to normal.

"I shouldn't be receiving this treatment," Harry muttered absentmindedly.

"Why not?"

"Umbridge wants me to continue going to detention with her until the message actually sinks into my hand and leaves a scar. If I use mertlap essence, I think that's not going to happen, and who knows what other ideas she has and what she is going to do," Harry elaborated, causing Hermione to look at him exasperatedly.

"Just report this detention stuff to Professor Dumbledore or some other responsible adults like Professor McGonagall. I'm sure they can help you."

"No, Hermione. Sure, they can stop the detention, but don't you see? Umbridge is playing mind games with me. She's trying to see if I will break under this kind of pressure and if I report her, it would mean that she has won. I'll not let her have the satisfaction," Harry said vehemently. Hermione only shook her head.

"I don't know what's going through that thick skull of yours. So what if she won the game? Your health is more important than this." So saying, Hermione cleared away the bowl and the cotton balls on the table, then left for the girls' dorm to sleep. Harry lightly woke Ron and Orion, then guided them towards the boys' dorm so they would actually sleep comfortably instead of on the couches to avoid them from possibly cramping in the morning due to their strange positions. Before he left Orion at the doors of the first year dorm, he softly muttered, "Thanks for your concern, but don't worry about me. Sleep well, and good night."

Orion then opened the door and stumbled into the dorms, and collapsed right on his bed to continue sleeping. Harry closed the doors, then went to his own dorms to rest as well. He'd have to squeeze in time for homework amidst all the detentions, but he could probably manage.


End file.
